


The Black Ice is Brighter than The Sun

by Nopejune



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, F/F, Fluff, Probably no angst at all
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:07:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22634830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nopejune/pseuds/Nopejune
Summary: Ava Sharpe needed to heal after a break-up. She ended up dog sitting for her friend in a cold Midwest college town. Things seemed fine until she met the neighbors - the group of misfits who called themselves Legends.A fluffy neighbors AU. My third attempt to write fluff and not end up angsty.
Relationships: Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe
Comments: 59
Kudos: 183





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a while after Stray. I was waiting for a story to come and finally it did. Thanks Roguebeachcomber for beta this new little fic.

Cold wind brushed against her dry cheeks. Ava sighed when she saw the dark round eyes looking at her with confusion and distrust. The giant head of the white fluffy monster tilted to the side a little, he didn’t understand why Ava just stood still and did nothing. It was freaking cold. She ducked her head a little, trying to bury her nose in the pile of knitted scarf around her neck.

Still, she could smell the unpleasant scent. She swallowed, letting out a huff before looking around. Her gaze finally fell back to the pile of dark brown feces, a green biodegradable bag in one of her hands. Well, dog poops were naturally biodegradable. Just leave it on the ground for a day or two. Why did people bother creating this norm and producing a lot of plastic garbage? 

There’s nothing quite like picking up dog poop on a cold afternoon when you don’t want to take your hands out of your mittens. It’s all Karin’s fault. Karin, an award winning writer who just came to Ava’s office a week ago with her giant duffel bag, telling Ava she wanted to break up with her for the sake of her new project. She wanted to explore the garbage chain in the global market. She wanted to immerse her life in Arizona, Negales, and Sudan. She said that a relationship would tie her heart to Seattle and prevent her from the adventure that could become a meaningful journalism career. She left Ava like that, didn’t even wait for Ava to say something like  _ ‘Your crave for romantic stories about garbage is f*ing white middle class.’ _

Karin Leonowens was gone. Ava Sharpe, the editor of that award winning book, was granted a month long vacation. Ava remembered crying, talking to her best friend Gabriella on a video call. Her friend was trying so hard not to show how happy she was. Her husband was playing with a white giant dog in the background. It was strange seeing her friend actually having a life different from when they were in college. People grew up and found their own paths. 

_ “Aves, sweetie, you need a break. You can’t just stay there and think about that bitch every time you come home and see all of the surfaces you two had fun on.” She glanced at her husband and the dog, then, lowered her voice. “I couldn’t say the F word. Don’t want my dog to hear it.” _

Ava rolled her eyes, tears still on her redden cheeks. She sniffed. She couldn’t find the right word to respond to her friend. Talking wasn’t easy when she was crying.

_ “My husband and I are leaving for a month long vacation in the Bahamas. Why don’t you come here and enjoy a break with our little Cayenne? He’s adorable. He will give you all the love and comfort you need. You will have access to our wine collection, too. Come, enjoy the crisp weather here. Who knows, you might even meet someone new. I think I saw somewhere that our city was ranked one of the homes to America’s hottest people.”  _

Right, there were dumb people making that kind of dumb ranking. But in that vulnerable moment, Ava actually thought Gaby’s offer was genuine. Since when did she like the cold climate? Never. Maybe there was some random evil entity planning a torturing post-break up for her. That made sense. When she was fourteen, she thought that a nun at her neighborhood church was hot. 

Anyway, she did book a one-way flight to Gaby’s house. The lovely couple greeted her with warm welcome and a quick tour of their two story apartment. It was fine. It didn’t look modern with a high ceiling and minimalist interior like the one Ava owned in Seattle, but it was cozy with a fireplace at the center of the living room. The dog, Cayenne, a Great Pyrenees, looked clean enough, elegant even. A well trained fluffy boy. He could follow some basic commands and had a good temperament. Gabby showed her a wooden cabinet in the kitchen where Cayenne’s leash, food, water bottle, and treats were stored. She made sure Ava understood that Cayenne’s appetite was infinite. He couldn’t control himself when it came to eating. Ava had to make sure he didn’t eat too much. 

_ “Here are the poopy bags.” Gabby pointed at a box full of rolls of thin green plastic bags.  _

_ “What?” Ava frowned before she realized what this was about. _

That’s why she preferred cats. Owning a dog meant walking them everyday and picking up their poop. But it was too late to run away. Gabby and her husband were leaving the house the next morning. Ava couldn’t just fly back to her place and ruin their vacation plan.

Ava sighed. The green plastic bag was thin. Too thin. Cayenne turned his judging eyes from her and sniffed the frozen grass. He didn’t seem to care how Ava felt about the situation. 

A gust of dry wind blew against her back, so strong that she stumbled forward a little. It was getting colder. She had to make a decision. Right, except for a homeless man sleeping in a sleeping bag on the bench at the corner of the sidewalk, no one was around. Maybe she should just leave it there. It would turn into dust in… maybe two days. Mother Earth would thank her. Greta Thunberg would choose her as the editor for her next book.

“You’re not gonna pick that up?” A female voice, a lazy tone with a hint of sleepiness, interrupted Ava’s thought. 

Ava blinked her eyes, turning around. A baby in a pink down onesie was standing in front of her. Her little arms were spread a little on her sides. She stood there for a few seconds before dropping her butt to the ground. It seemed like this little girl was learning how to balance on her tiny feet. Her blue eyes were looking at Ava in awe. Her tiny lips parted a little. Her cheeks were flushing like the skin of honey crisp apple. She gave Ava a smile that deepened her cute dimples. Ava’s heart melted when she heard a giggle from the little girl. 

She frowned when she noticed a leash connecting the girl’s onesie to something - someone’s hand behind her. Ava’s gaze flicked up and met with a woman with blonde hair who was holding the leash. Her other hand grabbed the edge of a skateboard. She looked short in a long down coat. Half of her face was covered by a scarf. Blue eyes were on Ava for a second before they fell down to the pile of dog poop. The woman shook her head disapprovingly, then, she stepped closer to the little girl and picked her up. She let the skateboard fall to the ground and stepped on it, carrying the girl in her arms. 

“Guess we can’t trust people from their looks, right? Bourbon.” She talked to the little girl. Ava’s mouth hung open at what she heard. How dare this woman assume Ava didn’t have the decency to respect public space. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She was just thinking. It didn’t mean she would leave the dog poop like that. And who would have called a baby Bourbon? An alcoholic mom? 

Ava didn’t get a chance to defend herself. The young mom pushed her skateboard and rode away. Who would carry a baby while riding a skateboard like that? Who would risk the baby’s safety by doing that without any protection gear? 

Ava turned her attention back to the dog poop when Cayenne pulled her with a little more force than he did earlier. He made noise, clearly wanting to go somewhere else. Ava groaned. She wished Cayenne was a small breed dog.

++++++++

That was alright. It was normal for the first day of moving in to a new place in a new city. Things shouldn’t be as smooth as she wanted. Ava shouldn’t be too frustrated about not knowing where things were in this apartment. At least, she knew where the nearest grocery store was. She would survive this. She would take a shower and forget about Cayenne’s white fur on her favorite black coat — that she could do. Thinking about it would make her notice them everywhere. Her lungs would stop working as a reaction to the unhealthy amount of dog hair in this apartment.

She would be fine. She would be fine. She chanted in her head after turning off the bed lamp. The room was filled with darkness again, just like the last time she slept in her own apartment. She thought, Gabby thought, that escaping from her normal life would make her feel better, that it would ease the bitter hollow she felt every night since Karin left her. Closing her eyes wasn’t an easy task when they were dampened, knowing exactly that the first image she would see behind her eyelids must be those dancing brown eyes and the smile with gap teeth. It hurt. She was tired of it but heartbreak wasn’t something that could be forced to heal. 

Ava pulled the duvet up to cover her neck. She forced herself to close her eyes. She would restart again tomorrow. Tomorrow she would drip her coffee and have a nice plate of avocado toast for breakfast and start her plan of reading all the books she wished she had time to read a year ago while she was editing Karin’s draft. 

The rhythm of her own breathing almost lull her to sleep when a squeaky noise startled her. Cayenne was doing something outside of her bedroom. Why didn’t he go to his bed? It sounded like he was chewing his squeaky coyote, wagging his tail against the door. She propped herself up and sighed. Being a coldhearted bitch like many of her colleagues thought of her, should she take the toy from him? Ava took a deep breath. She should be patient. The dog wouldn’t play with his toy all night. Ava let her head fall to the pillow again, unaware of her tightened grip on the duvet. The coyote cried a few more times before everything turned quiet again. 

Ava thought she could finally rest. Unfortunately, she was wrong. Loud strums of banjo ruined her chance to fall asleep.  _ Dammit _ . She cursed when it was clear that the loud country music playing next to her place was not an accident. It was already difficult for her to sleep in this unfamiliar bed. No way she could sleep with this stupid noise. No way Ava Sharpe would compromise with this indecent behavior. 

She rang the doorbell of the neighboring unit, arms hugging her chest. Ava was wearing her coat over her pajamas, already regretting her decision to be outside when the temperature was below the freezing point. She thought it wouldn’t take long to talk some sense to whomever owned this place. But she had been waiting long enough to get cold. The music must be too loud for them to hear the bell ring. 

Before Ava decided to ring the bell again, the cheerful music blasted from the opened door. 

“Oh hi.” A man, a handsome one with well groomed hair, greeted Ava with enthusiasm. Too much enthusiasm. 

“Hi.” It was her knee-jerk reaction. “Ahh -” Her attempt to talk about her agenda was cut short when the man threw his arm over her shoulders. Oddly, he didn’t smell bad like most of the men she knew.

“Guys, someone’s guest is here!” He looked over his shoulder and yelled before turning to Ava again. “I’m Nate, what’s your name.” 

“Uh…Ava.” She responded, wasn’t quite sure why she told him. 

“Nice. Come on in. It’s cold outside.” He didn’t ask any more questions. He dragged Ava through the foyer and Ava saw a small crowd of people having a party in the living room. A black girl (to be honest she was hot) was playing a banjo. Ava frowned when she saw a big double bass held by another beautiful girl. This place could easily gave her lesbian panic.

“Guys! Can someone get Ava a drink!” 

The music stopped at the same moment Ava’s jaw dropped. She tried to tell the man, Nate, that she wasn’t anyone’s guest. But before her words came out, her eyes caught the tiny form in a cute pink hoodie sitting on someone’s lap. Curly blonde hair, blue eyes, and chubby cheeks. Ava remembered her. Who would forget a baby named Bourbon. Her eyes flicked up and met with another pair of bright blue eyes. She had met them before. But this time, the girl’s face wasn’t covered by her scarf. She had nice blonde hair, a shade lighter than hers, and kind of… _ never mind _ . 

Ava closed her mouth when she noticed that Bourbon’s mom was looking at her with confusion. Ava wasn’t surprised that this woman was part of the noise pollution. She’s the crazy mom who rode a skateboard with her baby in her arms after all. 

“Ava, please have a seat. So, which one of us is your friend? I mean, it doesn’t even matter. You are my friend now.” Nate was questionably friendly. He gave her a wide smile and looked at his friends. There were six adults occupying the living room. The two girls who played instruments, the tall man with dark hair who had shakers in his hands, a bald middle aged man who had four bottles of beer in front of him. Bourbon’s mom was sitting on a couch, a man was sitting on one of its armrests, probably he’s Bourbon’s father. He raised his eyebrows a little, which was helpful. His weird nice guy vibe activated Ava’s allergic reaction to straight men and brought her back to the moment. Ava straightened her back, arms crossing over her chest. 

“I’m not anyone’s friend. I’m your neighbor whose sleep was disrupted by your lack of civility.” Ava said with a hardened voice, the kind that always scared her colleagues.

There was a moment of awkward silence when everyone was side-eyeing each other, not knowing how to respond to Ava. 

“The music was too loud. I don’t mind the party. But the noise has to be reduced. Or I call the police.” Ava scowled at them. She was quite confident she didn’t need to be nice to anyone who was drinking around a baby.

“Ahhh…you!” The blonde girl grinned widely. “You were that woman who didn’t pick up her dog’s shit.” The grin turned into a challenging smirk. “Civility, huh?” 

Ava’s mouth hung open and closed and opened again. She felt the heat creeping up on her cheeks. All of the eyes in the room were on her. The girl who played banjo even let out a chuckle. 

“You didn’t?” The tall man who played shakers genuinely questioned. “But that might be better for our environment.  A 2010 study from the University of Pittsburgh found that bioplastics production resulted in greater amounts of pollutants, due to the fertilizers and pesticides used in growing the crops and the chemical processing needed to turn organic material into plastic. ”  He mumbled to himself. There was no mockery in his tone at all. 

“I did clean up!” Ava defended herself and it came out a bit too loud. 

The room was quiet for a few seconds. Everyone was still looking at her. The cocky smile on that blonde girl’s face was infuriating. Even baby Bourbon pursed her tiny lips.

Ava huffed in frustration, couldn’t find the word to save her dignity. “That woman didn’t —”

Her sentence was cut short by a screaming from the baby. Bourbon started crying. Tiny drops of tears fell down and wet her reddened cheeks. 

“Oh no, honey. It’s okay. I won’t let the troll hurt you.” The mother held the girl closer to her chest, comforting her with one hand rubbing on her back. The man on her side put his arm over his partner, rubbing her shoulder lightly. 

“Troll?” Ava raised her voice. Her hands were now rested on her hips. 

“Shhhh…” The blonde woman cooed. It didn’t help at all. The baby cried harder. Her mom flicked her eyes up to Ava. “Can you please lea—” The woman couldn’t finish. The bald man grunted before getting up from his seat and took the crying baby from her. Two long strides and he was in front of Ava, holding the baby close to her face. The man looked at her with his cold gaze. If she wasn’t Ava Sharpe, her legs would have felt weak because of his intimidating stature. 

“You made the baby cry. You deal with it.” He grumbled. Before Ava could make sense of what was going on, she was already holding the baby with one arm under her backside and the other supporting her back. The poor baby screamed again. 

“Mick, you can’t just give Bourbon to a stranger like that!” The mom glowered at the bald man. She freed herself from her partner’s arm and stood up from her couch. She drew a step towards Ava.

But she didn’t come further. The baby in Ava’s arms miraculously stopped sobbing. She rested her head on Ava’s chest. Her tears dampened Ava’s clothes. Ava didn’t want to admit that the little creature was kind of soft, and somehow, it felt nice to hold her like this. She didn’t really know how to react to the situation, but her instinct told her to give the baby a gentle rocking. Her ears were granted by a lovely giggle that revealed the girl’s tiny teeth. She laughed again and balled one of her hands on Ava’s chest. 

Everyone in the room looked at her with surprise, especially the young mom whose eyes couldn’t move anywhere for almost two minutes. The bald man grunted with satisfaction and took another swig from the bottle in his hand. 

“This is weird.” Ava said awkwardly, looking at the cute little face, trying to keep a smile from her face. 

The young mom stepped closer to Ava, her eyes were soft on Bourbon. Ava noted in her mind that this woman was quite short. 

“Yeah, weird.” The woman reached her hands forwards, asking Ava to return the baby back to her. Ava carefully let go of the little one when she was sure that she was secure in her mother’s hand. Their fingers touched. Weird. It was just a slight touch. Ava shouldn’t have noticed how it felt. 

“Olly, can you help me for a sec?” The young mom looked over her shoulder to talk to the man Ava assumed was her partner. He came and took the baby. The mom was now facing Ava with her arms crossing over her chest. She tilted her head up a little. Ava let out a snort. This woman was so tiny she had to look up to talk to Ava.

“What?” The woman frowned. Her eyebrows were kind of… _ never mind _ .

“Nothing.” Ava pressed her lips together. It’s politically incorrect to laugh at someone because of their physical appearance.

“Look, we will keep the noise down. Bourbon just loves music and we have two best musicians in our gang. You can go back to your place now.” She told Ava. It didn’t sound like she thought that the noise pollution was their fault at all. 

Ava raised one of her eyebrows. “Okay.” She shrugged, it wasn’t her nature to compromise but she didn’t see the point of being in this place any longer. She turned her back towards them and walked to the front door. A loud “Good night, Ava” from Nate followed her shortly.

++++++

The hot water was turned off. Ava stepped out of the bathtub while grabbing the towel folded on the wall shelf. Ava dried her body before covering herself with the bathrobe. Steam had fogged up the mirror. Her reflection was blurred, just like her state of mind. This evening, Gaby called to check if everything was alright. The chat seemed like what she needed. Now she knew that she was supposed to leave the three sheep plush toys near Cayenne's bed. The herd was his responsibility. He liked to guard them at night. However, she was advised to take them away from him in the morning, otherwise they wouldn't be special for him. Most of the conversation was like that -- Cayenne, restaurants in the city, and the sharks her husband encountered while scuba diving. Ava told her friend about the inconsiderate neighbors. Apparently, they called themselves the Legends. Sounded geeky. Ava grimaced at the information. Her friend laughed and assured her that they didn't have a party at their apartment often. They were usually busy. Gaby even forced her to save the phone number of Sara Lance, the most responsible member of the group, in case Ava needed help. Ava felt the urge to ask about Bourbon, but she didn't think it was her business. 

The chat was kind of relaxing until Gaby brought up the fact that Ava was still following her ex's Instagram.  _ Stop hurting yourself _ , she said. Ava just nodded. It wasn't like she didn't accept that it was over. She was just worried, because Karin didn't really know how to take care of herself. That woman needed someone to remind her to brush her teeth before going to bed. 

Ava let out a sigh, contemplating her reflection that became more visible when the fog started to disappear. She didn't look bad. She was a lot better than the day Karin left her. Her skin didn't look too pale, her lips didn't have a crack. It had been a few days in the new city. Ava slowly getting to know it. There was a middle school four blocks away. There were beautiful lakes that started to freeze. Maybe the change of air was helpful after all. 

It's 11pm already. She was ready to go to bed after her long lazy day. She opened the bathroom door. She frowned, her hand still on the door knob. Again, Cayenne was sitting in front of the bathroom door while Ava was inside. He gave her a low "Wuff!." 

"What do you want? You know, this is creepy." Ava pet his head. He wagged his tail. She noted that she had to wash her hands again before she went to bed. She walked to her bedroom. Cayenne followed her. He waited outside until Ava was in her pajamas, ready to rummage through Cayenne's toy box. 

Ava gave him the herd of sheep. He carried each one carefully and placed them near his bed in the living room. When he was satisfied with the arrangement, he curled himself in his bed, resting his chin on his crossing front legs. Ava made sure his water bowl was filled. 

Of course, she didn't forget to wash her hands before returning to her bedroom. She sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her hands on her lap. Without the noise that Cayenne made in front of her bedroom, somehow, the house was too quiet. She heard her own breathing and realized how lonely she was. The last human she talked to who wasn't Gaby was that annoying next door girl.

She shouldn't have been concerned about the silence, because it didn't last more than ten minutes. Ava almost drifted off to sleep when she heard a howling from the living room. The wolf-like cry was repeated again and again. Something was wrong. Ava got up and walked down the stair to where Cayenne was. 

Cayenne was sitting in his bed. He lifted his head up and stretched his neck to howl again. Ava rushed to him and petted the side of his body. 

"What's wrong, Cayenne? You know there are less creepy ways to get my attention." 

He did stop howling, which allowed Ava to hear the other noise - a crying baby. No doubt it was from the neighboring unit. Bourbon was crying again, loud enough to make Ava's heart sink a little. But that was normal. Baby cried. Ava should get back to her bedroom.

It took a while for Ava to be aware that she didn't move herself from Cayenne's bed. She’s still listening to the baby's noise. She didn't feel like going back to her bed not knowing when Bourbon would stop crying. 

The feeling was ridiculous, or maybe not, she was a decent citizen after all. Her thought turned into action. After changing to sweatshirt and sweatpants, Ava found herself again in front of the neighboring unit. She rang the doorbell and didn't have to wait for long. The door was opened. In the dimmed light, that annoying blonde woman was carrying the crying baby against her chest. 

"You again?" The girl immediately turned her back towards Ava. "Come in, I can't deal with you outside when Bourbon's crying like this." She didn't wait for Ava's response. She walked back inside the apartment. Ava raised her eyebrows but followed. 

The light in the living room was enough for Ava to notice that the young mom was wearing a pair of rimless eyeglasses. Her hair was kept in a messy bun, her face free of make up and looked a shade too pale. Ava let her mouth parted for a few seconds before she caught herself looking at the girl a bit too long without saying anything. She blinked her eyes to shake the unknown feeling away. 

"What is it this time? My baby cries too loud and disturbs your sleep?" The girl said without looking at Ava. She sat on the couch with Bourbon on her lap, trying to calm her daughter. “How about Ken? Ken wants Bourbon to be happy.” She grabbed a plush toy and put it on her daughter’s lap. Ava frowned. A plush toy of.. half bird - half human being? Of course, it didn’t help. The baby screamed and grabbed the beak of the birdman and threw it away. 

Ava bit her lip. It seemed like the woman was alone with her baby tonight. She looked desperate. 

"Bourbon." Without thinking, Ava called the girl's name. She caught her attention immediately. The little face looked up to Ava.

"Let me try. Last time it worked." Ava told the mom and sat down on the same couch, making sure she wasn't too close to them. 

The mom looked at Ava for a moment before putting Bourbon on Ava's lap. "I’ve tried everything. She’s not hungry. Her diaper doesn’t smell. No sign of sickness.” 

Bourbon looked up to see Ava’s face. The teary eyes fixed on her. Maybe they had the same eye color, a bit paler than that of Bourbon’s mom. Ava wiped the tears of the chubby cheeks. She didn’t do anything more. She didn’t even like kids. But the crying turned into quiet sobbing. Bourbon rested her head against Ava's chest while Ava petted her small back. "Good girl." She said with her gentle voice, the one that only a handful of people knew. 

“This is witchcraft.” The desperate mom commented. 

Ava chuckled, couldn’t help but give Bourbon a soft smile when the girl poked Ava’s cheek with her tiny finger. “Maybe she knows who’s the better adult.” Ava said to the baby before turning to the mom. She realized that the mom was leaning in too close to her to look at her daughter. Ava froze. The pattern of freckles that ran across the other woman’s face was …  _ interesting _ . 

The other woman quickly pulled herself backward, putting a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Ava cleared her throat, looking around, trying to find where her eyes could land. She ended up looking at the Human - bird Ken on the carpet.

“Oh..” The woman quickly turned to Ava again as if she realized something. “I haven’t introduced myself properly. Name’s Sara, I’m a senior in Biology.” 

“Sara Lance?” Ava’s brows furrowed. 

“And you are Ava. Gaby told me today.” 

So, the most responsible member of the Legends was just a college kid, an infuriating one. Ava couldn’t imagine how chaotic this group of weird people were. Ava blinked her eyes a few times. The air was somehow thickened. Ava wasn’t good at continuing conversation with strangers. Bourbon gurgled while she was playing with the strings of Ava’s hoodie as if she was telling her something. Ava thought the girl was fine now. It’s time to leave and finally have some rest.

But before Ava could get herself away from this awkward situation, a phone on the coffee table in front of them vibrated. It was just an alarm. The young mom, Sara, grabbed the phone. Ava was quite sure she mouthed the word  _ “Fork” _ to the screen. 

“What?” Ava asked, noticing the worry in the way the other woman’s jaw flexed.

“Nothing, the alarm just went off. I have two exams tomorrow and I should be studying now.”

“Oh, I shall leave you alone.” It was such a good opportunity to get herself out of this situation and go back to her bedroom. Ava carefully placed Bourbon on Sara’s lap and got up from the couch.

“Wait.” Sara stopped her from walking away from the living room.

“What?” 

The other woman smiled sheepishly. “Uh...I know this might be too much and we barely know each other.” She bit her lower lip as if she was making a tough decision. “All of my friends are working tonight. I can’t study if Bourbon doesn’t want to sleep.” She looked up to Ava and bit her lip again. Ava thought this girl bit her lip too often. Not good. 

Sara’s lips were chapped. Her bare face looked pale. The dark circles under her eyes were quite visible even with her eyeglasses on. The girl looked tired. It must be hard taking care of a baby while still in college. Maybe she wasn’t entirely bad.

“What do you want?” Ava asked.

“Ah...it would be nice if you can stay with her until she drifts off to sleep, which might be in an hour. I’ll just go to study in my room. I will take her to her crib later. ” Her voice was shaken a bit. Ava clearly heard the desperation and hesitation in her tone. 

“How can you leave Bourbon with a stranger? That doesn’t sound sensible.” 

Sara let out a sigh. Her eyes fell on the little girl on her lap. A barely noticeable smile formed at the corners of her lips. “I don’t know. Bourbon likes you. And we trust her.”

It would be a lie if Ava didn’t notice the gentle warmth from those words. “And what will I get in return?” She raised her eyebrows. 

Sara’s smile widened, giving Ava a good view of her perfect teeth. “I will walk Cayenne and pick up his poop ten times.” 

Ava frowned, pursing her lips. “So you know Cayenne when we first met. Why did you act like you didn’t know him?”

“Come on, isn’t it a good deal? You don’t like cleaning up dog poop. I really need to maintain my GPA. It’s my last semester.” Sara gave a pleading eyes, which wasn’t convincing at all.

But it actually sounded like a good deal. Just one hour and she didn’t have to pick up dog poop for maybe ten days. Ava’s eyes flicked up and down, looking at Sara and Bourbon. Her gaze was softened a little and she hoped no one noticed. 

“Okay…” Ava sat down on the couch again. She saw the moment Sara’s face brightened. She placed Bourbon on the seat next to Ava. The baby looked up to see Ava’s face and made a noise with a wide smile. Ava couldn’t help but bending down to talk to the girl. “Yeah...we can play together.” 

“Thanks.” Sara said before getting up from the couch. “I will get you a cup of tea.” 

About ten minutes later, Sara returned to the living room. Ava didn’t pay attention to anything but the little girl. She was talking in her baby language that Ava didn’t understand. It would take a few months before she could speak some simple words. Was the word  _ “Ava” _ too difficult for a baby?

A cup of tea was placed on the coaster on the coffee table. Warm steam flew up over the cup. Ava noted in her mind that she had to be careful and keep Bourbon away from the hot liquid. 

“I brought you a blanket.” Ava looked up. A soft plush blanket was in Sara’s hand. Ava took it and put it on her side. She might use it. This place was a bit colder than Gaby’s. 

“If you think Bourbon needs anything, just let me know. My room is there.” Sara pointed at the door at the left corner of the first floor and gave Ava a wink -- an out of context wink. Ava frowned but she didn’t respond, wasn’t quite sure what it meant. Sara finally turned her back towards them, shaking her head slightly. “Hopefully I can get the study done in two hours.” She mumbled to herself, heading to her room.

“The father should’ve helped.” 

Ava muttered to herself, but it was loud enough. She frozed when she realized that Sara paused her steps. It wasn’t her business at all and clearly inappropriate, but seeing a woman struggle to be a mom and success in school all by herself like this, her brain was too late to stop her mouth.

“Uh..sorry. I didn’t mean…I...I..” She was fumble for words, knowing that she had crossed the line. 

Sara turned around. Ava expected the woman to tell Ava to leave, not a smug grin on her face. 

“About that, actually, I’m the father.” The grin turned into a snort.

Bourbon was cupping Ava’s face with her tiny hands, but Ava didn’t give her a smile.. She was trying to make sense of what she just heard. Her brows knitted together. What did Sara mean? Was it a joke? A bad joke? Should she laugh? 

  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 yay! I still don't know to summarize a story. Thank @roguebeachcomber for bata this. It was quick. Enjoy this fluffy treat and go vote!

  
  


Sunlight flared through the silhouettes of trees on the roadside, painting the late afternoon sky with warm gold. Ava rested her back against her seat, taking off her gloves to check her phone. According to Google Maps, she would arrive at the bus stop close to the university’s arboretum in ten minutes. She could’ve used Gaby’s car, but she didn’t want to deal with the anxiety of finding a parking spot in the city she barely knew. Only a handful of people were sharing the bus with her. It’s Sunday, of course, not many people wanted to go out when the temperature was barely above the freezing point. 

But here she was, riding a bus to the edge of the city. She regretted being vulnerable in front of Gaby. She shouldn’t have given her friend the idea that she was pathetic. Gaby, a good friend, the ultimate matchmaker, Ava’s wingwoman since 2010, signed Ava up for a full moon night walk event at the arboretum. She said Ava should try something out of her comfort zone to give herself a chance to live her life to its full potential. _ “Well, I joined this event last year. Most of them were our city’s senior citizens who had so much free time. But I think there were some lesbians too.” _ Ava had to remind her friend she wasn’t looking for anyone new and randomly throwing the L word in was a useless strategy to get Ava interested in something. 

The “meeting new people” part of Gaby’s argument wasn’t convincing at all. But Ava decided to give it a shot. Karin always wanted adventure. Her ex would rather fall and get hurt instead of being safe in a place without challenge, totally opposite to her. Ava always wanted to feel in control and see everything in order. She gave herself a dry smile. Maybe the break up wasn’t as sudden as she always told herself. She had always been too boring for Karin. 

So, she gave it a try, not that she wanted to prove she could be out of her comfort zone or anything like that. It’s just because she was on a break. She read somewhere that people tended to do crazy things during the time away from their mundane life. It explained why tourists did stupid things that they wouldn’t have done in their home town. 

And Sara kept the deal. This evening, she took care of Cayenne. Sara -- Sara and the band of her weird friends. The thought of them made Ava draw her hand up to massage her temples. 

_ “Actually, I’m the father.”  _

__

_ Ava remembered that smirk on Sara’s face when she said those absurd words.  _

_ She didn’t respond. Clearly, it was a lame daddy joke. She put Bourbon on the floor so she could play with Ken.  _

_ The noises of someone stepping on a wooden floor came from the foyer. Ava turned her head to the direction. _

_ “Did anyone say anything about Bourbon’s father?” _

_ It’s Nate. He walked into the living room, followed by the bald man. If Ava wasn’t wrong, Sara called him Mick. The tall nerd and the two musicians soon joined them. Ava didn’t like the way they side-eyed each other after noticing Ava’s presence.  _

_ Sara shrugged. “I just told Ava I’m the father.”  _

_ “Actually, I’m the real father.” The girl who played banjo the other night stepped to the front. “I went to a sonogram exam with her mom.” The girl sat down on the floor in front of Bourbon, opening her arms. Bourbon made a cheerful noise when she saw her. _

_ “Charlie, you can’t just claim that. I went to most of the prenatal visits with Jordan. Clearly, I’m the father.” The other girl joined the banjo player on the floor. “Hi, little one. Did you have a good time with Aunt Sara?” She talked to Bourbon with her small voice. _

_ “I was in the delivery room with Jordan. Z, you can’t beat that.” Sara crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head down to look at the two girls and Bourbon on the floor, her eyes soft on them. _

_ “But I was the one giving Jordan everything she craved for during the first trimester.” The tall man chimed in, raising one of his hands to get attention.  _

_ “But I named her.” The bald man grunted. It didn’t sound like he cared.  _

_ Sara shook her head. “Mick, you were just lucky.”  _

_ Nate raised his hands. “Okay, guys.” He put himself in between Sara and the bald man.“We’ve talked about this before. We all are Bourbon’s fathers.” He then turned to Ava, “Don’t listen to the nonsense, Ava. All of us are Bourbon’s fathers.” He told her as if the idea made any sense.  _

_ Ava was quite sure that the depth of the crease between her eyebrows could cause a headache. So, Bourbon wasn’t anyone’s daughter. And from their ridiculous conversation, the baby was definitely not Sara’s daughter. But why would anyone want to be a father if they clearly weren’t, especially for someone who’s still in college? Were they in a polygamous cult or something? The thought made her feel a twist in her stomach. Nate was a nice guy, too nice. That tall man, though seemed like a nerd, but his bright smile could be deceiving. The bald man looked like a criminal.  _

_ “Okay, I’m leaving now.” Ava got up from the couch. She decided that she better returned to her place and save herself from these migraine inducing people. Hopefully she could sleep and not be awake because of her unsettling thoughts about the neighbors. Of course, she was concerned about the baby, but she should distance herself from the Legends first. So far, she didn’t see any sign of abuse from Bourbon. The girl looked healthy and in a good mood right now. She hoped it wasn’t what she thought. But if she heard Bourbon crying again, she might consider calling the police.  _

_ Ava was aware that the baby’s eyes were following her movement when she turned her back towards her. She felt like she should give Bourbon a proper goodnight hug or something, but it must be awkward. She pushed her way through the tall man and Nate, walking towards the foyer. _

_ “Hey, wait.” Sara called her. Ava paused, feeling a chill on the back of her neck. With her tense body, Ava turned around. Sara followed her and now she was standing only a foot away. The door was just behind Ava. She reached one of her hands to the door handle, ready to pull it open. _

_ “I think I will walk Cayenne for you, like, maybe once. Bourbon stopped crying because of you.” Sara told her. _

_ Ava swallowed, obviously not because of the way Sara adjusted her eyeglasses while looking up to meet her eyes.  _

_ “Deal?” Sara raised her eyebrows, biting her lip, waiting for Ava’s response.  _

_ One option was getting closer to them to know more about what was going on. Another option was staying away from the Legends and gathering the information from a distance. But at this moment, her rejection would draw too much attention to her.  _

_ Ava nodded slightly. It didn’t mean she would really let Sara come closer to Cayenne any time soon. “Bye.” Ava forced a smile before pulling the door open. _

_ “Sara, Bourbon already has six fathers. Are you getting her a second mom?”  _

_ It’s the girl named Z’s who made the comment. Ava quickly got herself out of the apartment and closed the door. She refused to believe that this inappropriate joke had anything to do with her. Z must be talking about someone else. Ava quickly walked away from the neighboring unit. She didn’t want to hear anything more from them. That was enough for a night. _

Ava didn’t get a chance to protest when Gaby told her not to worry about Cayenne while enjoying the romantic night walk in the forest. Gaby texted Sara and the girl quickly agreed to help. “ _ You can just leave the house. Sara has the key.”  _ Ava’s mouth gaped open in disbelief. She told Gaby that the Legends claimed all of them were Bourbon’s father and Ava didn’t trust them. Gaby just laughed.  _ “It’s not what you think, sweetie. But I’m not the one who can say anything about it.” _ Gaby didn’t explain. She hung up before Ava could protest. It seemed like her husband was in the middle of something and needed her help immediately. Ava reminded herself to lock the door security guard from inside. 

Ava sighed, checking with Google Maps again to make sure that the next stop was Fish Hatchery and Carver. She had seen only a few houses, all sparsely located along the road side. She finally pulled the signal cord to let the driver know she was getting off. 

The cold wind welcomed her the moment she stepped out of the bus. According to the map on her phone, she was at the threshold between the city and the forest. The trees were swayed by the wind, creating the errie rustling noise that was soon turned into silence. According to what she read from its website, the 246 acres ecosystem was restored to its natural condition in the mid 1930s. Now the man made forest has expanded to cover over 1,200 acres. Ava looked around to find some landmarks. There were a few houses on the opposite side of the road. At least, it was not the real forest. She had to walk for 1.3 miles to the arboretum visitor center.

Ava put her phone back into her coat pocket. Her bare hands were getting cold. She searched for her gloves.

She only found one of them. She searched all of the pockets she had on her clothes but it seemed like the left-handed one was lost. She looked at the ground but found nothing. Clearly it fell out of her pocket while she was on the bus. “Dammit!” Ava shook her head slightly. She hated it when she lost half a pair of something. The other half would be useless. She felt off-balanced already when she put her hands in her coat pockets to warm them. It felt weird when one of them was covered in the glove while the other was exposed. 

But Ava didn’t have time for her frustration of losing a glove. She had to arrive at the visitor center in 30 minutes. Something went wrong even before she arrived at the starting point. She wasn’t gonna like this event. Google Map showed that she had to walk towards the west along the small street for about thirteen minutes until she found a T intersection. She did accordingly, checking the map shown on her phone occasionally.

The blue dot on the map showed that she indeed arrived at the intersection and she should turn left and continue walking on a street that didn’t have a name. She frowned. It was blocked by a red metal fence. There were signs prohibiting pets and vehicles including bicycles. The color of the sign and the gate was quite intimidating. But Ava didn’t have time, she entered the street anyway and followed the map in one of her hands. 

Ten minutes went by. With every step she crushed the decaying leaves on the ground, the forest along the sides of the street was thicker and thicker. It was getting dark. She couldn’t see the sun, but through the silhouette of pine trees, she saw the red-orange of twilight falling down towards the western horizon. The temperature started to drop. Her breath was visible in the cold air. 

Ava trusted Google Map until twilight turned into dusk. The only source of light was the screen of her phone. She stopped and rerouted the map again to make sure that she was on the right track. It didn’t easily reload. The top left of the screen showed only one bar of cellular signal. The blue dot that showed her location was somewhere else and not on the street. It happened sometimes when the signal was poor. It wasn’t a big deal. Ava would just follow the path. It would lead her to the destination anyway. 

She quickened her steps, trying to ignore the fact that the pavement had disappeared at some point and she was now walking on a narrow trail and definitely not a street. She took her phone out again to use the flashlight. 

“Fuck!” She cursed to herself when she realized that her phone had only five percent of battery left. She clenched her jaw. It’s her fault that she didn’t bring a portable charger with her. The trip was supposed to be simple. She didn’t expect that she had to walk alone at night in the forest. The event’s page said the participants didn’t need to bring a flashlight with them. The moonlight was enough. 

_ The moonlight.  _ Ava looked up to see the moon. Her heart fell to her stomach when she saw nothing but darkness above her. The evergreen trees were big and their branches were thick enough to prevent the moonlight from touching the forest ground. Ava looked at her phone again. One wrong decision and her phone would be dead. She definitely couldn’t use the flashlight function, but she had to think quickly before the device turned off. Calling 911 or texting her friends? Was this an emergency situation? 

“No!” Her phone’s battery percentage dropped to three. The wind blew and it sounded like the forest was murmuring. A sound of tree branch breaking echoed from somewhere before she heard it fall to the ground. Ava looked around but the light wasn’t enough to see anything. She wasn’t even sure that the path was still in front of her. 

It was an emergency situation.  _ Emergency _ . Gaby told her to call Sara in case she needed help. She might have only one chance to make a call.  _ Sara or 911?  _ It wasn't a life threatening situation. Gaby assured her that Sara and her friends were not in a polygamous relationship. They’re still kind of creepy but Ava could deal with that later. Ava took a deep breath, her left hand was freezing while searching for Sara’s number in her contact. It should be easy. Just called her and told her she was lost in the forest. Yes, it was embarrassing, but Ava didn’t want to stay here overnight without food and water. She dialed the number. Her heart quickened its rhythm. She didn’t really know what to say when the girl answered the call. 

The needed light disappeared when her phone just turned itself off, leaving Ava in the total darkness of the wood, so dark that she barely saw her hands. Ava’s jaw clenched.  _ Don’t panic. _ She told herself. Just stayed on the trail and she would find the visiting center. 

She shoved her hands in her coat pockets to warm them, still feeling the loss of her left glove. She carefully followed the trail. When she didn’t have a device to focus on, the sound of the night wasn’t just white noise anymore. Nocturnal animals were quite active tonight. Ava had to pause her steps and calm herself every time she heard something screeching or moving not too far from where she was. But she kept walking. Fear was useless in this situation. 

Ava wasn’t sure how long she had been walking in the dark. She didn’t bring a watch. Her legs felt tired. Her face felt numb because of the cold temperature. She dressed warmly but she had been outside for a long time already. The cold started to freeze her toes. A long howling noise echoed in the wind. There were wolves. Ava hoped they were far away. 

She finally sat down on the ground. She didn’t meet the dead end, but she didn’t see any lights. If this trail was leading her to the visitor center, she should’ve seen the light and followed its direction. She would rest a bit and continue to find the way out of the forest. She crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself to maintain the heat. She wanted to curse herself but she couldn’t feel her lips. It was a stupid decision to call Sara and not 911. It was life threatening. She could freeze to death if the temperature dropped more. The thought that she could do something out of her comfort zone was also dumb. She didn’t have anything to prove. Karin wasn’t worth it. Poor Cayenne, he might have to be alone in the big apartment tonight. Gaby told her the other day that he followed Ava everywhere because he felt insecure and Ava was the only human that could give him some comfort. 

She almost closed her eyes to give her brain some rest when she saw a dot of light. She quickly got up. Now she heard hurry footsteps approaching her direction. The dot of light was getting bigger and bigger. Ava drew her hand up, squinting her eyes and looking through her fingers. She dropped her hand when she saw the person panting in front of her. 

“Thank god.” 

The person breathed out a relief. Ava flicked her eyes up and down to make sure that what’s in front of her was real. It was unbelievable but it’s really Sara. The girl took her glove off her free hand, and before Ava could move her cold lips to say anything, a warm hand was cupping her face. 

“You are freezing.” The eyes looking at Ava were fully dilated due to the lack of light. The warm hand rubbed her cheek gently, returning the heat to her lips. 

Ava pulled her face away from the touch. The girl quickly drew her hand back. “Sorry.” She looked away and took off her backpack. A moment later, an opened thermos bottle was offered to Ava. 

“Drink some warm water.” 

Ava did as told. Maybe her brain was partially frozen too. It took her quite a while before she could think of anything. 

“You came alone? How did you find me?” Ava returned the thermos. Sara took it and gave herself a sip. Ava squinted her eyes, slightly disgusted by the thought that she shared a bottle of water with someone else.

“I thought you’re gonna say thank you. But never mind.” The girl put the bottle back in her backpack. “Biology major. Took a botany course. Had a part time job here for a semester. And you are not the first one getting lost on this trail, thanks to Google Map.” She talked about it like it was normal. “Anyway, are you feeling alright?” Sara moved the flashlight up and down to check on Ava. Ava tucked her left hand deep in her coat pocket. She wasn’t sure if she was okay. Obviously her toes started to feel the cold numbness. Maybe her new stylish pair of pull-on boots weren’t warm enough. However, she gave Sara a weak “Yeah.” Somehow, it didn’t feel right to have this girl rescuing her, but Ava didn’t have other choice. 

“Follow my lead then.” The flashlight brightened the path behind Ava’s back. Sara walked past her. Ava frowned, didn’t understand why Sara gave her a smirk, but she didn’t wait until the distance between them grew. 

Ava followed Sara quietly. The girl never looked back, as if Ava would disappear if she did so. Ava noticed that the forest was quieter when they were talking a while ago. It was as if all of the small nocturnal lives around them were being cautious and didn’t make sound. Now, with just the noise of human steps, the animals resumed what they were doing. At some point, Ava was certain that something just ran from a spot on the side of the trail just before the streak of light reached where they were. But Sara’s steps didn’t falter at all. 

“Ouch..” Ava’s front hit Sara’s back. “Why did you stop?” 

Sara turned around with her flashlight pointing at Ava. “You followed too close and kicked my heels five times already.” She lifted one of her eyebrows. 

Ava pursed her lips upward a little. Of course, she kicked her heels a few times. Sara had shorter legs. Ava had longer strides. She didn’t say what’s in her head. It wasn’t the time to piss her rescuer off. Ava clenched her left hand in her coat pocket. “I will be careful.” 

Sara nodded and swiveled to continue her lead. 

“Are you scared?” The girl asked after Ava miss-calculated her stride and got too close to Sara’s back again. 

“I’m not.” No she wasn’t scared. She just wanted to get out of the forest as soon as possible.

“It made sense that you’re scared, though. This forest is cursed. It was a sacred land of the native people until the European settlers came and desecrated their mounds. They tried to change this land into a furs processing station. They abandoned it after a few years. The workers were too scared of the mysterious chanting noises with drums at night.”

Ava felt the chill from her spine. She didn’t respond to the story that was clearly made up just to mess with her. 

“Actually, that wasn’t the reason this land was turned into an arboretum.” She continued, lowering her voice for no reason. “A group of people, mostly women, were secretly using the abandoned settlement for some sort of cultic practices. They were accused of witchcraft. All were executed on this land. The mayor just tried to erase that history.” 

At the end of the story, a wave of gentle wind blew through the forest, creating the sound of leaves and branches lazily rustling for a moment until everything turned quiet again. 

“You little shit.” Ava mumbled through her gritting teeth. She received a joyful chuckle as a response.

Sara’s voice faded into silence when the stream of light hit a pair of glowing orbs about ten feet in front of them. They looked like two burning embers floating above the ground. Before Ava could think of anything, her arms already wrapped around the tiny form of the girl in front of her. Her bare left hand clutched Sara’s waist. 

With her pounding heart, Ava held her breath. A hand carefully placed over her left hand. “It’s okay…” Sara whispered, her voice soft, almost sounded like when she talked to Bourbon. “It’s just a deer.” 

The next few seconds, the glowing orbs disappeared from their sight. Sara still didn’t move. They waited until she was sure that the animal was anywhere near them. “It’s gone.” She turned her head to the side to tell Ava. Her warm breath touched Ava’s neck. Maybe Ava was outside for too long and her body must be too cold that the warmth in her arms mattered. She swallowed before quickly untangling herself from Sara. She drew a step back, suddenly wanting to be as far from Sara as possible. Sara’s eyes flicked up to look at her with that annoying smile before her gaze fell down to Ava’s hands.

“Where’s your left glove?” She asked. That smirk disappeared. 

“I lost it, probably on the bus.” Ava looked away. She couldn’t stand that gaze.

“Use mine. I don’t need it.” 

Ava blinked her eyes, not knowing what to do when the girl took off her left glove. 

“It won’t fit my hand. You are tiny.” It worked. Sara frowned and stopped her movement. “No offense, but your glove must be too small for me.” 

Sara raised her eyebrows before tracing her tongue briefly on her lower lip. Then, she lifted her bare hand up in front of Ava. It wasn’t small, probably the same size as hers. 

“I have big hands. Thick fingers. They are good at many things.” She ended it with a lazy smile. Her head tilted to the side a little. 

Ava’s eyes rolled up. She was so done with this girl. Why couldn’t she just shut up and lead the way out of the forest. She snactched the left glove from Sara and put her hand in it. The residue of Sara’s body heat warmed her hand immediately. 

“Happy now?” Ava scolded quietly. 

Surprisingly, Sara didn’t push anymore banter. They resumed their hike in the dark. Ava had been there long enough to get used to the forest sound. Her eyes fixed on Sara’s back, didn’t want to lose that sight. She didn’t know how long they had been walking. But when the bright spotlight emerged from the dark line of tree tops, Sara let go of her hand. Ava wasn’t sure when they were joined. But Ava remembered that she didn’t pull it away when Sara reached behind and took it, probably just to make sure Ava was following her.

“That’s the Visitor Center. I used to work there.” Sara pointed at the building waiting for them at the end of the trail. The pine forest was now a few feet behind them. The cold full moon shone in the glowing sky above the grey prairie. 

“Usually, they take people to the boardwalk trail across the prairie. I guess you too are late.” Sara turned off the flashlight and turned around to talk to Ava. The light from the building and the moon was enough to see her reddened cheeks. Sara must be cold too. 

“Whatever. How do I go home?” Ava looked around. 

“My car was behind the building. But don’t you want to see the boardwalk? Come on, you are already here.” Sara gave her a bright smile, her eyes shining. 

For what? Fresh air? Ava already had more than enough fresh air today. Sara acted like their walk in the woodland wasn’t long enough. 

“Don’t you have to go home to take care of your child?” 

“You are lucky tonight isn’t my turn to babysit Bourbon.”

Ava opened her mouth to reject the idea, but she was too slow. Sara left her, drawing her steps quickly towards the entrance of the prairie trail. Ava huffed out a breath. Without Sara, she couldn’t go anywhere. 

Ava followed her. The wind blew, making the sound of grasses dancing. It was as if they were in the middle of a wheat-colored sea. Sara walked leisurely, moonlight reflecting on her blonde hair. It wasn’t that bad. It was more peaceful when Sara kept her mouth shut and let nature talk to Ava. 

“Do you know what the Ho-Chunk call the full moon?” There she was, started talking and ruining the peace. She turned around, walking backward while facing Ava. 

“Raccoons breeding moon.” Sara didn’t wait for Ava’s guess. She told her and turned her back towards Ava again. 

Of course, Sara had to tell her that kind of fact. Ava shook her head, but her steps didn’t falter because of the warmth creeping up on her cheeks. 

Ava followed Sara for about a hundred metres until Sara stopped in front of a circle structure made from stones. Ava paused her steps behind Sara. Now she could see that it was a well. She frowned. It didn’t make sense that there was an ancient-looking well in the middle of the prairie created for conservation and research. 

“The Witch’s Circle. It was discovered and restored thirty years ago, probably built by the cult I mentioned earlier.” 

Sara had too many stories to tell Ava. She thought the girl just wanted to scare her with haunting urban legends. But at this point, Sara was probably just a nerd. Ava drew her steps closer to the well. She bent over to have a look. The water had yet frozen, mirroring the full moon in the sky. 

“There’s a pagan belief that if one looks into the well on the full moon night, they will see their true love.” 

Ava scoffed, realizing that she was rescued by a Disney princess. She didn’t see anything except a blurry reflection of herself and the moon. Maybe that cute belief was used for tricking kids to love themselves. 

“Don’t see anything interesting.” Ava said lightheartedly. 

“Really?” Sara stepped to Ava’s side, looking into the well. 

Ava blinked her eyes. Now there were two blurry shadows reflecting on the dark water. It was too dark to see the face of those reflections, but Ava felt like they were fixing their eyes on each other’s. 

“Yeah, there’s nothing interesting.” Sara pulled her head back from the well. Her reflection disappeared from the water surface. 

“Yeah.” Ava agreed. She didn’t believe the pagan superstition for even a second anyway. She straightened her back. 

“I think we should…” Ava wanted to tell Sara they should go home. But the moonlight took her breath away. Yes it was the moonlight that was to be blamed. Too bright that she saw strands of blonde hair gently swayed because of the wind. The wicked moonlight was also glowing in those Blue eyes. Those full lips parted a little like they were waiting for something. 

Ava swallowed. “I think we should go home. I’m cold.” She managed to say what’s in her mind. 

Sara nodded. “Yeah.” The response was somehow too short for someone who couldn’t keep her mouth shut. The girl led Ava back to the visiting center. 

+++++++++

They got out of the car after Sara parked it in their building’s parking spot. Ava took off the glove on her left hand and returned it to Sara.

“You should come in and say hi to Bourbon.” Sara told her while they were walking to the front of their apartments. Ava didn’t answer. Maybe the adrenaline from the unexpected adventure started to drop. 

They walked side by side until they were at their places’ doorsteps. A man was sitting in front of Sara’s apartment. He quickly stood up when he noticed them. Ava remembered that Sara called him Olly.

“Sara.” He gave Sara a warm smile, a cigarette was still tucked at the corner of his mouth. Ava hated smoke. 

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t tell me you forget our plan tonight.” 

“Ahh, yeah..right, we are going out tonight.” Looked like Sara clearly forgot whatever plan they had together. 

Ava unlocked her apartment door. “Bye.” She didn’t look at her - them, to be precise. Ava felt like she shouldn’t be there. She didn’t wait for a “Good night” from Sara. She entered the house. Cayenne was barking with excitement. Usually, he would stay calm. But this time Ava left him for too long. He jumped, scratching his big paws on her coat. Ava had to sit down and let him press his warm body onto hers. She hugged him back. Ava didn’t worry about his white fur on her clothes anymore. Cayenne was so warm, warmer than Sara. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I shamelessly took the idea about the well from a Moomin episode.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while. But here's the 3rd chapter of my little fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks @Roguebeachcomber for beta.

Ava’s dining room was filled with the warm savory smells of salt, garlic, butter, and rosemary. The steak had rested long enough and now cut into slices. Meat juice oozed from the grain of the pinkish medium rare steak. Ava heard a swallow from Sara who sat opposite to her. Cayenne wagged his tail and licked his mouth near the table. Poor fluffy boy, Gaby told her not to give him human food.

“The eggplant tart looks yummy.” The girl who sat next to Sara couldn’t hide her excitement. The tart looked amazing as it should be. The pastry was baked to perfect. Not many people knew that puff pastry should be rolled before baking. The honey and balsamic reduction sauce was shiny on the caramelized eggplants and green onions on top of it. Jordan, Bourbon’s mother, had her daughter on her lap. She looked even younger than Sara. The mystery of Bourbon’s affection for Ava was unsolved. Her mother had blue eyes the same shade as Ava’s. 

“I hope it tastes as good as it looks.” Ava gave Jordan a humble smile, a pretentious one. Of course, it tasted devine. Ava knew how good she was at cooking. Bourbon clapped her hands when Ava served her a small plate with a dollop of mash potato, cooked carrot, green beans, butternut squash, a small fillet of poached salmon, steamed beets, blueberries, and strawberries cut into small pieces. “You’re having a rainbow for dinner!” Ava told Bourbon, exaggerating the fact the dish was just plain baby food. 

Looking through the window, snow had stopped falling. The neighborhood was covered in the fresh snow glowing with the street light. The warm light in the house gleamed on Sara’s hair that somehow got shinier when she smiled. Sara poured a glass of wine for Ava. A string and harp adagio was playing softly in the background. Ava gave Sara a tight lipped smile, making sure Sara knew it was fake. Yes, Ava couldn’t believe she was having dinner with Sara and Bourbon’s mom right now. 

++++++

Earlier that afternoon, Ava took Cayenne out for a walk. It was cloudy and gloomy the whole day, and when Ava reached the park, the first snow of the year was lazily falling down to cover the ground and the trees’ canopies. Ava remembered what she saw vividly. Sara Lance was in a purple coat and red beanie. She lifted Bourbon up and held her high. The baby reached her chubby arms to catch the falling snowflakes. Some of them stuck on her reddened cheeks. Bourbon didn’t laugh. Her eyes were dancing in awe. The feeling of learning about a new thing about life must be amazing. It was Bourbon’s first snow, and it was the first time Ava saw Sara smile, not smirking. 

Of course, it turned into a smirk as soon as she noticed Ava. Ava wanted to just say hi and walked away but Cayenne tugged the leash excitedly and dragged her towards Sara and Bourbon. 

And when Baby Bourbon noticed Ava, she made a cute high-pitch noise, reaching her arms towards her. Sara tugged her lower lip with her teeth before releasing it and saying hi. Without asking, Ava took Bourbon from Sara while Sara took Cayenne’s leash from her hand. Bourbon’s tiny hands tried to catch snowflakes again. She frowned every time the ice flakes melted and disappeared. Ava let some of the snow fall onto her glove and gave it to the baby. Bourbon touched the melted snow and then booped Ava’s nose with her wet finger. Ava scrunched her nose playfully and laughed at how Bourbon smiled and showed her two baby teeth. “You like it, don’t you?” She talked to the baby and got a cheerful “Eh!” as the answer and her heart melted just like a snowflake in Bourbon’s tiny palm. 

When Ava turned to Sara, the woman quickly averted her eyes to somewhere else. 

“Okay, I gotta walk Cayenne. Congratulations for your first snow!” Ava carefully returned the baby to Sara’s arm and took Cayenne’s leash back. 

But suddenly, Cayenne circled his body as if he was chasing his tail. He decided that a spot near an oak tree trunk was the right one. “Oh, come on…”. Ava groaned. He had pooped that morning. Ava didn’t expect that he would do it again during their afternoon walk. When he was done with his business, Ava sighed and took a green poop bag out of her coat pocket. She took off her gloves. 

“Want my help?” Sara chimed in. Ava didn’t have to look at her to know how smug she was right now. But if Ava was honest, the offer was tempting. What would she lose? Maybe a little bit of pride. But she could also take pride in manipulating Sara into thinking she won while doing the dirty job for her. That sounded like a win for Ava. 

Ava pursed her lips but gave the bag to Sara. The woman raised one of her eyebrows with that annoying grin. Ava almost took the bag back just because of how infuriating that face looked. 

Sara put Bourbon into the stroller and did the job for Ava. Cayenne walked to the side of the stroller and let the baby pet his head. Sara quickly got it done and disposed of the bag in a park trash can nearby.

“Well, you haven’t thanked me properly -- this, plus the rescue. I think I deserve, at least, a free dinner.” Those blue eyes shone with amusement. The snow was still lazily falling, it didn’t seem to fall heavier. Ava wished for more snow so she could make a snowball and throw it at Sara’s face.

Ava should’ve known that this woman wouldn’t just help her for the sake of humanity. But like it or not, Sara did save her from freezing to death. Ava knew that many college students were struggling to make ends meet and usually fed themselves with low quality food. Sara might be tired of instant ramen noodles.

Because Ava was a kind person, they made a stop at the co-op groceries store on their way home. It was convenient to leave Cayenne with Sara outside the store and take Bourbon with her in a trolley to do a quick grocery shopping. Bourbon was Ava’s tiny guardian angel. The guy at the produce section finally stopped trying to compliment her. 

Ava got everything she needed for her dinner plan in no time. Bourbon got a new onesie with a cute blue dragon reading a book under a curve of a rainbow printed on it. Ava thought the caption _‘Dragon loves books’_ was kind of related to her profession. She couldn’t resist the urge to see Bourbon in this cute onesie. 

Cayenne wagged his tail vigorously when he saw Ava came out of the store. Sara waved at her before returning her attention back to the public notice board near the entrance. 

“Anything interesting?” Ava asked while unloading the grocery bag and then putting Bourbon back in her stroller.

“Charlie’s concert this Saturday night. I’m just proud of my friend.” Sara pointed at an A5 flyer with the face of Charlie sticking out her tongue printed on it. Ava flinched at the name of the band _‘The Smell.’_

“Wanna go with us?” Sara bit her chapped lip at the end of her question. 

“Ermm..” Obviously, Ava wasn’t into it. Cayenne would be a valid excuse. 

But before she could reject the invitation, her eyes caught another flyer on the board. This one was professionally made with glossy paper. Ava felt the heat in her eyes when she saw the familiar book cover and a tall woman in a turquoise suit, sitting on a chair, her long legs crossing. Short pixie hair with that familiar confident smile -- Ava couldn’t believe what she saw. The text on the poster read _‘Meet Karin Leonowens - The author of From Garbage to Gold: the Sansara of Waste.’_ Apparently, there was a book festival right now at the city’s public library. Karin was one of the keynotes. A knot formed in Ava’s stomach. Tomorrow night, Karin will be at the public library. Too soon. Too soon for her to be able to endure the fact that, tomorrow, Karin would be in a place just a few blocks away from hers. 

“Are you okay? You don’t have to make dinner for me if you really don’t want to. I was hoping for a date at a fancy restaurant anyway.” 

Ava’s head snapped to look at Sara when she heard the word ‘date’. Her face was stern, her eyebrows raised up. What the heck was that? 

“Obviously, I didn’t mean date _‘date’_.” Sara quoted the air with her fingers. 

Ava narrowed her eyes, her arms folding across her chest, towering over Sara. “That won’t happen either.” 

Sara rolled her eyes up. “Whatever.” She pushed Bourbon’s stroller and started walking. 

Ava tilted her head, her eyes following Sara’s back. She didn’t like it -- the weird, giddy feeling that made her smile involuntarily, thinking if she should’ve just given Sara a gift card from some fancy restaurant instead of cooking dinner for her. That would be a lot easier. 

But she already bought the ingredients for the dinner. There’s no going back right now. She gave the poster of Karin a last glance, huffing out a breath. That would be a matter of tomorrow. Right now Ava would just let Sara distract her however she wanted. 

Their walk to Ava’s place wasn’t eventful. A rabbit ran by but Cayenne seemed not to care. He was more into squirrels. Kids from the school in the neighborhood were sharing the pedestrian with them. It was noisy, some were chasing their friends, but Bourbon seemed to enjoy the sounds of different things and people around her. A pair of school girls looked at them and whispered something, probably judging Sara, assuming she’s a teen mom. Ava paused her steps, giving the kids a death glare. Sara had to pull her arm and drag her away from the kids. 

The snow was falling heavier when they arrived at their apartments. Bourbon screamed with excitement when she saw a dark-haired young woman waiting at the Legends’ front door. The woman quickly approached the stroller and picked Bourbon up. The baby gave her a peck on her cheek. Ava didn’t have to ask to know who the girl was. Ava saw the joy that almost looked like tears in her eyes -- the joy of seeing her beautiful daughter again after a long day of separation. Ava didn’t take her time to think before inviting the girl to the dinner. No, it wasn’t an effort to avoid spending time alone with Sara Lance. 

++++++++++++

Jordan was a sophomore. The girl worked three jobs in between being a mom and a college student. Ava couldn’t imagine how hard it was for her, but she admired her deeply. Ava learned that Bourbon didn’t usually live with the Legends. Jordan’s place was located on the other side of the campus. The legends helped babysit Bourbon whenever they were needed. When the toddler was with her mom, she barely gave Ava or Sara attention. Right now her shiny blue eyes only saw Jordan. 

“I would clean up Cayenne’s poop everyday if I could have this kind of dinner as a reward every week.” Sara mumbled while chewing the steak. The meat juice dripped down a corner of her mouth. Disgusting. Ava grabbed her phone, and without a warning, she took a photo of Sara.

“Oh, you’d like to have a picture of me? You should’ve asked nicely.” Sara licked the meat juice at the corner of her mouth. Ava grimaced at the girl’s ill manner.

Ava showed her guests the photo she just took. Sara’s eyes were closed. Her lips pouted with a trail of meat juice dripping down to her chin. 

Jordan bursted out laughing at the photo. “I think Ollie would pay good money for this.” Ollie -- that guy who was waiting for Sara the night Ava got lost in the forest. So, he's someone who would pay good money for a funny picture of Sara? Not creepy at all.

Sara lazily wiped her mouth with the napkin, a glint of mischief was showing in her eyes. Ava knew exactly what was in the girl’s mind. Ava bolted up from her seat, reaching her hand to the phone lying near Sara’s plate as quick as she could. But Sara was quicker. She grabbed the phone, pulling herself backward to escape Ava’s hand. 

Ava froze when she found herself hovering a few inches above Sara’s face. Her hand now wrapped around Sara’s wrist that was raised above her head. The phone was now transferred to Sara’s free hand. Damn, Sara’s reflex was something. She shouldn’t be surprised. 

That evil glint in those blue eyes turned into something slightly softer. Ava’s lips parted. For a moment, her mind was blank, and that was enough for Sara to get her revenge. 

Light flashed before Ava’s eyes. She blinked as a reflex. Her fingers were loosened around Sara’s wrist. Ava quickly retreated back to her chair, letting out an exasperated huff. Sara was now laughing infectiously. The photo Sara just took must look hilarious in the most natural sense, because now Bourbon was laughing too, poking the phone screen with her chubby finger. 

“Delete it.” Ava lowered her voice. 

Ava didn’t receive a retort back. The phone in Sara's hand started buzzing. “Oh crap, it’s time to go to my lab. Need to go check on those algae.” Sara stuffed her mouth with two more pieces of the steak before getting up from her chair. She hurriedly grabbed her backpack and gave Bourbon a quick peck on her head. Ava’s eyes followed her movement. 

“Well, thanks, Ava. Next time I will try to clear out my schedule for you.” Sara winked at her before heading to the front door. Ava heard the door shut, mouth parted at the way Sara just discarded the dinner. 

“That was... rude.” Ava did try to find the word more kids and pets friendly, but she found none. 

“I’m sorry, Ava.” Jordan’s eyes were soft on Ava, which was totally wrong. Because, to Ava, there’s nothing to be sorry about. 

Ava straightened her back, regrouping herself from the bafflement. “That’s great. Now I can finally have a peaceful dinner.” Ava grabbed her tableware, continuing her dinner, ignoring a weird tug at her chest. Cayenne decided it was a good time for him to rest his chin on Ava’s lap. Ava missed how Jordan pressed her lips to suppress a giggle for a brief moment. 

“Judging from how much she enjoyed the steaks despite being a semi-vegan, I guess I have to step in and save her then.” Jordan said while adjusting Bourbon to lie down on her lap. The baby was about to doze off. 

“What? “ Ava raised her voice, confused. “If Sara didn’t really like meat, why would she act like she could devour the whole dish by herself?”

Jordan turned to Ava. She raised her eyebrows before shaking her head slightly. “Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is, I’m begging you not to be mad at her.”

Ava shrugged. “I’m not mad about her leaving. I mean she begged me to give her food and I did. If she just wanted to disregard my kindness for whatever, I mean, probably just to piss me off, it’s her choice and I don’t care.” Ava lifted her chin up a little to make her point.

“You were rambling.” Jordan chuckled.

“No, I--” Ava pressed her lips, cutting off herself when she saw Bourbon stirred, fearing that she might disrupt her sleep. 

Jordan gave her a gentle smile of a mother, as if she weren’t a college kid but someone more mature than Ava. “Ava, Sara works many jobs. I told the Legends I could raise Bourbon by myself without their help. But they insisted they wanted to save money for Bourbon’s college fund. That algae lab is probably one of her gigs.”

The frown on Ava’s forehead was deepened. So, Sara and her friends were saving money for Bourbon? The generosity sounded absurd. A question reflexively popped up in Ava’s mind. Why would they do that? 

“It’s all because of my former classmate Mick Rory.” Jordan gave Ava the more chaotic answer for the unsaid question in Ava’s head. 

+++++++

Cayenne curled up in his bed with his herd of sheeps. All of the dirty dishes were now in the humming washing machine. Jordan helped her clean up before she left with her daughter, leaving Ava with the quietness of the night. The way her heart raced contradicted the calm after snowfall. Yes, it was weirdly thumping in her chest. But it wasn’t a bad feeling. It was rather warm, unfamiliar -- rare. Being a workaholic, an unfriendly co-worker, always deemed too difficult to make friends with, Ava couldn’t recall the last time she felt like this. 

_“Wait? They made that lame daddy joke again? Ewww!”_ Jordan grimaced after learning that the Legends told Ava they were Bourbon’s fathers. _“People would think I slept with all of them, which is...NOPE. Ewww.”_ The girl put the last dish into the dishwasher rack before closing its door. Ava offered her a cup of tea, suppressing a smile, amused by how disgusted Jordan was by that joke. They moved to the sofa set. Bourbon was sleeping on one of the seats.

_“Mick was my classmate. Years in prison couldn’t stop him from pursuing a degree in creative writing.”_

That’s how the middle-aged man got involved in Jordan’s life. Almost sixteen months ago, the girl barely started her freshman year at the college, not knowing that a life had started to form within her body. A university clinic visit for an unusual headache ended with an unexpected question from the doctor, asking her if she wanted to keep the fetus. Jordan couldn’t think clearly. There’s no way she could. She kept the revelation to herself for quite a while, until she couldn’t. Her parents didn’t take the news well. They would’ve killed her if she had the fetus aborted. But they were too ashamed of her to welcome her back home.

It was raining that night when she finally found her boyfriend cheering his football team with his friends at a sports bar. She dragged him outside, trying to tell him about her situation. Suddenly, the man she thought she fell in love with turned into someone she didn’t know, denying his responsibility, accusing her of cheating. Clearly he wasn’t sober, but it didn’t justify his aggressiveness towards her. He almost hit her then Mick Rory broke his fingers. 

_“Sara, Nate, Zari, and Ray were there too. Sara told my ex she was capable of breaking his neck. With Mick and Ray on both her sides, she’s so tiny, she didn’t look intimidating at all.”_ Jordan laughed at the memory. It was unthinkable how she could talk about the incident with fondness in her eyes. 

_“He left. I was crying, panicked. You know, that was a lot. Just when a bad thought came to my mind, Sara asked how I was feeling. She was a stranger but she saw through me. She didn’t leave me broken like that.”_

They stayed with her, stubbornly insisting they wanted to listen to her story of desperation and rejection, of how her life crumbled, of how her conservative parents disowned her, -- of how the doctor asked her the other day if she wanted to keep the baby.

_“Sara told me she would support whatever decision I would make. They were the craziest people, you know. I thought they said that just to calm me down, but they took me to their place, gave me warm food. The girls stayed with me until the next morning. The boys made breakfast for me.”_ Jordan paused, her eyes drooping down to the sleeping form near lap. Bourbon stirred. She moved her leg so her baby butt jutted up a little. _“I forgave myself for not being able to choose the most logical choice to save my future.”_ Jordan patted her daughter’s back lightly. 

Ava turned off the headlamp, tugging the duvet up to cover her body. Her face glowed by the light from her phone screen. She let out a chuckle that left a smile on her lips. Sara looked ridiculous in the photo she took. Then, Ava’s smile dissolved into something more meaningful. Sara and her friends took turns to help Jordan get through Bourbon’s first three months, the period when babies slept in short bouts. They took care of Bourbon when Jordan couldn’t. They did something that seemed impossible if one did it alone. They created possibilities by defying the limitation of common sense. 

Ava put her phone down on the bedside, closing her eyes, hugging the hem of the duvet. Ava didn’t know how long Sara had to work in the lab tonight. But she was certain that, soon enough, the girl would be sleeping on the other side of the shared apartment wall. Ava sighed, she didn’t question why the same duvet she slept in last night felt softer. 

++++++

The next day afternoon, Ava found a poster of the public library book festival on the junction box glaring at her. The red light took too long. Ava couldn’t just walk Cayenne across the street and pretend she didn’t see it. She swallowed, didn’t like how her heart skipped a beat at the realization that she forgot about Karin’s coming into town. Her head was still processing what she heard from Jordan. 

Ava breathed out through her mouth. At least, she didn’t spend her day panicking about Karin’s existence in this city. What progress. However, while walking across the street, she felt like the poster was staring at her back, yelling behind her, asking her the familiar questions. Didn’t she want to see Karin? Didn’t she want to know how Karin was doing? Was seeing Karin again with her own eyes -- being in her proximity -- worth the risk of the deep brokenness that would definitely ruin her sleep?

Was she still the same loser who let Karin walk into her life and make her think she wasn’t good enough? No. Ava shook her head. She accomplished so much as a young editor. Yet, she wasn’t enough for her ex. _“You are great, Ava, really really great indeed.”_ Karin said it before she left her. If finding words to compliment her was that difficult for a renown author, the meaning must be the opposite. But Karin was just like that. She couldn’t pretend to like things. 

And there, she was -- standing behind the podium, talking to one of the event’s organizers. Ava ducked her head down a little, but it wasn’t low enough to not see how Karin’s hair grew a bit longer than the last time they saw each other. That bright smile was still there for the whole world to appreciate. Ava felt the heat creep up on her face. Nope, she wasn’t still having a crush on her ex. Cleary, it was because of a big pile of scarf she wrapped around her neck that covered half of her face. She also had a beanie and sunglasses on. Karin would never notice her among the crowd. 

The moderator started the event, introducing the key speaker. Karin thanked her before working her charm, smiling, making eye-contact with the audience. Gosh, her eyes. Obviously Ava couldn’t see Karin’s eyes from the back of the room. But she knew them well. Totally different from Sara’s. Karin had really long eyelashes. 

“You guys don’t know how much I love this project. To dig deeper into something that could connect us to the world that we wouldn’t be able to imagine how it’s like, I even broke up with my ex so I could give all of my attention to my mission.” She laughed, enjoying herself. 

A pang in Ava’s chest was quite something. Since she saw the poster again earlier today, she had been nervous, and if she was honest, she was also a bit excited. Now, her gaze fell to her lap. Suddenly, she realized it was a mistake that she let her stupidity drag her here to see Karin again. 

How could she teleport herself to somewhere else? If she stood up, Karin would definitely see her. Ava couldn’t be more pathetic. She kept her eyes away from the speaker, hands holding tightly on her lap as Karin’s speech went on. 

This felt like an hour. Ava didn’t really know how long it took before Karin paused her lecture. Someone came late. The person wasn’t careful enough to not create the creaking noise while opening the door. Ava still kept her gaze where they were, but she could sense how the audiences turned their head to the entrance. Shortly, Karin continued her talk on how Mexican traders would come to thrift stores in the US border towns to find their goods. 

“Gibbo!” 

And the room was silent again. Someone’s baby just decided to disrupt the talk. 

Ava narrowed her eyes. No, not just anyone’s baby. Ava lifted her head and turned to see if she was wrong. She wasn’t. And she shouldn’t have gasped when she saw Sara in her rimless eyeglasses, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Her cheeks were bright red from the cold weather outside. Those glasses turned the infuriating Sara Lance into something -- something harmless. Right, _harmless_. That’s the right word to describe Sara with her glasses on.

“Why are you wearing shades?” Sara asked with a hint of amusement while unbuckling the baby carrier strap. Bourbon was reaching her arms towards Ava. The glasses didn’t change who Sara was. She’s still a jerk. 

“Why are you here?” Ava asked back with her usual grumpy tone, taking Bourbon from the baby carrier and placing her on her lap. The baby immediately brushed her nose against Ava’s chest and babbled joyfully. Ava sensed how the people sitting on the row in front of her shifted uncomfortably at the noise. 

Sara shrugged. “I guess I’m the author’s fan.” She didn’t look at Ava. She was paying attention to Karin on the stage. A smirk formed at the corners of her lips. 

Ava flinched at the answer. It was weird hearing someone admire Karin, especially when that someone was her annoying neighbor, who...who might actually be a very kind-hearted human. Ava sighed, her expression softened when she looked at Bourbon’s smiley chubby face. The girl’s eyes were exploring everything around her before she returned her focus to Ava. Bourbon put her tiny fingers in her mouth then poked Ava’s sunglasses and touched her face. 

“Ugh...no, sweetie.” Ava told Bourbon with her tiny voice. She pulled her face away from the wet small delicate hands. It’s messy, but actually, Ava didn’t mind it at all. She couldn’t resist the smile that showcased two baby teeth. 

“Sorry.” Sara quickly took a napkin out of her backpack and cleaned Bourbon’s hand. She took out another one and looked at Ava. “May I help you?” 

From the corners of her eyes, Ava could see that the people around them were shifting uncomfortably. Ava didn’t want any more attention. And… and Sara was looking at her through those glasses, her eyes looked up, lips parted a little, waiting for her permission. Ava gave her a slight nod, so she could get it over with before she felt anything more than the slightest of warmth blooming on her cheeks. She couldn’t help but close her eyes when the soft fabric approached her face. 

To her surprise, she felt her sunglasses taken away. Reflexively, she opened her eyes. Her gaze immediately landed on the careful eyes that fixed upon where the napkin met her face, a few millimeters away from her lips. Ava breath hitched at the gentle pressure on her skin. Bourbon now turned her attention to Sara, tangling her tiny fingers with Sara’s hair. And Sara just let her do it while she cleaned Ava’s face. 

“Done.” The warm fabric left Ava’s skin burning. Ava was fortunate Sara wouldn’t know it, because she was busy putting the napkin back into her backpack and then tying another one around Bourbon’s neck.

_“I...I… I think we all can afford high quality products from companies that prioritize waste reduction in their production processes. We...we can change our consumption habits.. uh.. to save our planet.”_

Ava wasn’t aware since when Karin had resumed her talk. Ava turned her attention to the podium again because of Karin’s stuttering. That’s unusual. She could hear that her ex’s voice was a bit shaking. And somehow, her speech lost its flow. To Ava, that statement sounded not quite right. It’s cliche. Ava wouldn’t let that kind of statement appear in a book she supervised.

About a half an hour later, Bourbon decided she had enough dose of Ava so she reached her arms to Sara. Cautiously, Ava watched the baby crawl from her lap to Sara’s. Bourbon was such a fearless baby. When she settled comfortably on Sara’s lap, she reached for one of Ava’s hands, wrapping her hand around Ava’s index finger. Ava let the baby use her hand as a toy. Bourbon’s touch was delicate, and somehow, soothing. Ava could listen to Karin without her stomach being churned. Her mind could really engage the content of the talk. She frowned when she disagreed, nodding when she found the part that was interesting -- such as the part about the belief of sacred waste among the people of Shangrila. 

A long applause from the audiences marked the end of the talk. Karin disappeared in the crowd flocking around her for autographs. 

That’s it. Karin was her past, someone so far away even when they were in the same room. Ava’s shoulders were softened. She sighed, knowing that it’s time to leave. At least, she knew how it felt to encounter the bitterness that had been haunting her since the breakup. 

A warm hand that didn’t belong to a baby was placed over Ava’s. Her fingers curled at the touch. She didn’t pull it away. She turned to her side and found Sara looking at her apologetically. Bourbon just wanted to play with both Sara’s and Ava’s hands. 

Poor Sara. She must feel so awkward. Hence, Ava gave her a smile, telling her that it wasn’t a big deal -- _sort of_. 

“Are you waiting for a chance to get her autograph?” Ava teased. Sara chuckled and shook her head. “She’s alright. But without the editor, that book would’ve been disastrous.” Sara raised one of her eyebrows playfully. Could someone get tired of working their charm? Because this gentlewoman here always did it, and Ava was tired of her -- of that thing that made her look away, just like when her eyes met the glare of the sun.

Ava shook her head in an attempt to shake off the smile on her face. She had to bite her lip to suppress it. Why was it so easy for Sara to make her smile like this? Sara was right, though. She remembered the countless times she argued with Karin over the content of the book. Ava was harsh, always encouraging Karin to think beyond making her work palatable. Thinking about it, she had to give Karin some credit for tolerating her.

“Shall we go and get some milkshakes before heading home? I know a cute cafe on Gilman Street.” Sara tilted her head to the direction of the exit.

Ava nodded. They got up and Ava helped Sara wear the baby carrier. Sara realized that her red scarf was left on the chair and it was difficult for her to wrap it around her neck with a nine month old baby on her front. So, Ava helped her, keeping her attention to the scarf, not those freckles. When she was satisfied with her work on Sara, they left the room. The buzzing crowd turned into just meaningless white noises behind them.

Just to be clear, Ava wasn’t a fan of milkshakes, but Gilman Street had many historic buildings and it wasn’t a favorite spot for college students. A peaceful walk on a beautiful street with pretty lights might just be the thing she needed at the moment. Her heart had been doing somersault since she decided to attend Karin’s talk. Now, she felt drained -- _peacefully_ drained, indeed. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Happy Halloween! It's been so long, I know. I'm still adjusting to my new life that its pace is so quick I barely have time to enjoy the world. I'm still writing fiction though, slowly. Like a Feather is still going. World building in that fic needs time for myself to immerse into that grand setting. So I wrote the Black Ice which requires less effort in creating the setting. It's mellow and more about mundane life. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy this fluffy thing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New fluffy chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @Roguebeachcomber for beta this.

Ava didn’t really care about religion except that one time she thought a nun was hot, but as soon as she was inside the hotel, she couldn’t help but utter “Thank God” with relief. Her feet were safe from freezing in the cold outside. Gabby told Ava she should bring some fancy clothes just in case she had a chance to go on a date with someone during her vacation. Ava didn’t want to argue so she brought a pair of red sole Louboutin and a midnight blue silk slip dress with her. It had small crystal encased sterling silver chains entwined on one of its straps. She couldn’t believe she had to wear them tonight. 

That pair of glossy high-heels might make Ava look flawless, but they were never comfortable to wear, and obviously, they weren’t made for the condition when melted snow started to freeze again after the temperature dropped. Anyway, her balance was good. She didn’t fall on her way from Gabby’s house to the hotel. She should’ve called a cab but she didn’t. She thought she didn’t want to arrive at the event too soon. 

Here, she was at the reception for the gala dinner, leaving her coat at the coat check. The receptionist quickly located her name on the guest list and escorted her to the ballroom. Ava hesitated for a moment before stepping into the event that was glowing with large chandeliers and laughters of rich people mixed with soft classical music and clinks of glasses of champaign. 

Her phone buzzed in her thin handbag. She took it out to check, couldn’t help but smile at the photo sent by Jordan. Bourbon was hugging Cayenne’s neck. Jordan would take him out for a walk tonight. Ava put the phone back in her bag and took a deep breath, straightening her back, widened her shoulders, hoping that the event wouldn’t be too unbearable. At least, she could use Cayenne as an excuse to leave if she had to. Yeah, it wouldn’t be too bad. She was an adult who hated social events but she’s mature enough to deal with it. 

But...damn, Karin was in that green dress, a birthday gift from Ava. She looked stunning as always. From the middle of the room, her eyes finally found Ava.

+++++

Ava could have avoided the book festival gala dinner if last night she had left the public library quick enough. While she was looking at Sara showing Bourbon an art piece installed on the library wall, she heard hurried footsteps. Ava hoped it was just someone else trying not to miss a bus. But, of course, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t know that her ex noticed her among the audience.

_ “Ava, wait!” _

Ava sighed. She didn’t turn around. She didn’t have to. Karin was already in front of her, standing between her and the building exit. The beautiful Karin, panting, looking at Ava with her eyes that always seemed well-meant.

_ “I’m sorry I didn’t know you were coming to my talk. Otherwise I wouldn’t have made that lame joke.” _ Ava’s shoulders stiffened. It was a genuine apology that felt rough against Ava’s ears. 

_ “I wish the thing between us could have worked out. Truely, I would never want to hurt you, Ava.” _ Karin drew a step closer. Her eyes were leveling with Ava’s. 

Ava‘s jaw was rigid. She didn’t know what might happen if Karin didn’t shut up. She didn’t like facing something she wasn’t ready for. She was unprepared. Ava was afraid Karin might see how much she was wrecked by the break up. 

Hollowness was nauseating. Ava did nothing wrong, but she felt embarrassed. She knew she was too weak to hide how much she was affected by Karin’s presence. Karin left her, suddenly disappearing from her life as if she was never real. It didn’t make sense that Ava felt like she was to be blamed for the break up. She felt powerless. Karin would know how pathetic Ava was.

_ “I hope you don’t hold the grudge. That day I had to leave you for my flight to China.”  _ Karin smiled brightly.  _ “I mean we are adults, right? We can be cool with exes.” _

Oh...Karin couldn’t shut up. Ava dug her nails into her palms. What did a break up do to a person who got dumped? They lost sense of gravity, questioning their self-worth, asking themselves constantly why weren’t they good enough, wondering if they would ever see their loved ones’ faces again. Ava probably had been through all of these. 

With Karin being as beautiful as she always was, Ava’s heart felt the pulsing ache. Still, she’s missing that face, that wonderful mind that was full of exciting thoughts, and the body that used to press against Ava’s back when she was sleeping. Half of her wanted to reach for the familiar hands that she used to hold when she needed support, while the other half wanted to run away from this situation as far as possible. She swallowed a lump formed at the base of her throat. Those brown eyes were still waiting for her to say something.

Maybe Ava could say hi. At least, she could do that. But the word was kept to herself when a hand reached Karin’s arm from behind. Ava blinked as if her eyes stung. A familiar face greeted her. Shanyn Venker, the editor-in-chief of her company. 

_ “Oh, hi, Ava. A delightful surprise! I thought you’re on vacation.”  _

Ava’s eyes landed on her boss’s hand on Karin’s arm again. Shanyn barely left the space between herself and Ava’s ex. Ava was old enough to know what the gesture meant. Her heart had fallen from her chest the moment Karin made the joke about their break up, now it was crushed on the ground. When did these two become this close? The break up was just barely a month ago. Ava felt like her head was hit by a hook punch.

_ “Shall I wait outside and give you guys some privacy?” _ Bright blue eyes looked at Ava through the cute glasses. Then, Sara looked back and forth between Ava and Karin. Bourbon did the same with a finger in her mouth, wondering who the new people were. The haziness in Ava’s mind disappeared. She almost forgot she was with them. She blinked her eyes repeatedly. Sara’s nonchalant tone and Bourbon’s innocent curiosity brought her back to the moment. The air around her seemed lightened. 

How long had she been unable to form a word in front of Karin? Ava realized that it must be long enough for them to assume that she couldn’t get over the break up. 

But Ava wasn’t a loser, at least, she couldn’t let them think she was. 

Hence, a stupid lie.

_ “Oh, it’s great to see you guys but I’m with my date tonight so..” _ Ava tilted her head to where Sara was standing.  _ “Maybe we can catch up later sometime. I’ll be in this city for a while.”  _ Ava forced a smile, a very sweet one. _ “Right?”  _ The way she smiled at Sara contradicted the glare she gave her. Sara narrowed her eyes.

It wasn’t that bad. Sara was a kindhearted and hardworking person after all. And objectively, she was not unattractive, a compelling choice for a date. One wouldn’t know she was still in college if they didn’t look closely enough. Bourbon definitely added some maturity to her overall appearance.

_ “Wooh!” _ Cued the baby who might or might not be able to read Ava’s mind. She reached her hands up, trying to catch pretty lights decorating the roof of the hall.

_ “See, we’re raising a child together!”  _ Ava grinned cheek to cheek, actually straining her face muscles, telling Sara to play along. Sara just rolled her eyes. Ava wanted to pinch herself. That lie went too far and wasn’t convincing at all.

_ “How about you and your date joining our gala dinner tomorrow? I think you should be there as a member of our company. Autumn Peltier will be there too. You know, we want to publish her autobiography. No one would be better for the job than you.” _ Shanyn asked Ava, pressing her body closer to Karin. 

Ava would’ve grimaced at the way her boss rubbed it in her face that she and Karin’s relationship was beyond professional. However, the name of Autumn Peltier made her eyes shine with excitement. The teenager was among the well-known young activists advocating climate change. She was called the Water Warrior for becoming the leader of the movement to protect Lake Huron. Ava definitely wanted to work with her and tell her story. 

Ava couldn’t think straight. She said yes and might later blame it on the trainwreck of bad decisions she had been making. 

_ “Sure, Shanyn. I would love to meet Miss Peltier. Please put me and Sara on the guest list.” _ Ava turned to Sara.  _ “Right...babes.” _ Sara raises her eyebrows at the endearing term. Her subtle smirk made Ava’s cheeks burning. What’s wrong with her mouth? 

_ “Ah, um. Nice to see you and Shanyn. But Sara and I had a plan tonight. So, please, excuse us.”  _ It was weird that Karin didn’t really talk much. But Ava didn’t have time to think. She needed to get herself out of this suffocating situation. She grabbed Sara’s wrist and walked to the building exit. 

Bourbon was babbling cheerfully because Sara was giggling on their way out of the public library. They were now on the sidewalk, heading to Gilman Street. The displays of the shops along the street were glowing with holiday decorations. The joyful atmosphere was contrasted with Ava’s grumpy face. 

_ “So, Karin Leonowens is really your ex. Wow.”  _ Finally, Sara stopped laughing at her.  _ “I’m not going to the gala with you, though. Tomorrow night is Charlie’s concert. Can’t ditch my friend for a girl, you know....babes.” _ And she burst out laughing again. Sara Lance might be kind to kids and her friends, but she’s still a jerk to Ava. 

And of course, Ava didn’t like being the subject of teasing, especially, by Sara Lance. So she took a long step and turned around, blocking Sara’s path. Sara almost crashed onto Ava. Her laughter was silenced. She flicked her eyes up to Ava’s face. The space between them wasn’t much, but Ava leaned closer, leaving a small distance between their faces just to give Sara a smirk while looking right into her eyes.

_ “You don’t like that term?”  _

Ava let out a chuckle when she noticed how Sara gasped involuntarily. Her freckled cheeks were blossoming under the street light. Bourbon tilted her head, looking up to Sara, probably wondering why suddenly, her babysitter seemed lost. That was funny. It’s Ava’s turn to laugh now. She drew a step back and turned around to continue her walk, her mood a bit lightened. An innocent crush was a beautiful thing to witness. It was why people were drawn into romcom movies. A dash of sweetness that made people’s lives bearable and not too bland. But Ava knew it was nothing beyond that. The girl was with that Olly guy anyway.

Last night, Ava chose to indulge in the carefree nature of walking with a next door neighbor to a cafe instead of thinking too much about the torturous gala dinner she had to attend the next day. Finishing a tall glass of milkshake took her long enough to get to enjoy how adorable Bourbon was when Sara tried to teach her the vocabulary of things in the cafe. 

_ “Mentha x piperita.”  _

Sara pointed at a peppermint plant in a clay pot near the window. She picked a tiny aromatic leaf and brought it to Bourbon’s nose so she could smell.  _ “Gah!” _ That didn’t sound like the scientific name that Sara tried to teach her. Ava shook her head. Now, it made sense why Sara and her friends thought Ken, the half-human-half-bird plush toy, was appropriate for a baby. 

++++

The silver cutlery was shining under the light from the sparkling crystals on the chandelier. Live music from the ensemble band at a corner of the hall was joyful, but not loud enough to disrupt the flow of people’s conversation. This event sure cost a lot of money and resources. Ava believed the planner didn’t really think too much about waste reduction. Judging from the amount of caviar on the canapes, these people didn’t seem to care about sustainable consumption.

“Where’s your partner? She seems nice.” Karin looked behind Ava and then looked around, trying to locate Sara. With Shanyn in a yellow gown standing next to her ex, Ava couldn’t help but feel like the space on her side was too empty. She was alone in a place where she didn’t belong. 

“Sara couldn’t come.” Ava clutched her hand bag, forcing a smile. She didn’t even bother finding a lie to make her look not too pathetic. 

To Ava’s surprise, the pair didn’t pry about Sara. They led Ava to the table reserved for them. The MC called for attention to officially start the event with a speech from the director of the public library. He also informed the audience that Autumn Peltier couldn’t come and give her speech tonight as planned because she wasn’t feeling well. Ava sighed. She had to endure this gala for nothing. 

Despite being too attached to Karin, Shanyn was still a good colleague. She introduced Ava to some of the authors who attended the dinner so their company could form connections with them. But Ava wasn’t good at socializing. She thought that meaningless and shallow conversations that would never become a foundation of a real relationship were pointless. But she tried her best answering questions, keeping a smile on her face. She was certain her face muscles might hurt tomorrow. 

And when Shanyn did enough of introducing Ava to people, she excused herself for a washroom. Leaving Ava with Karin, who seemed as tired as Ava. To those who didn’t really know her personally, Karin might seem like an outgoing person, but Ava knew well that Karin could keep talking only when the topic was about what she was interested in. The music became more upbeat and some of the guests already occupied the dance floor. Karin had low alcohol tolerance. Her cheeks were red, her eyes glazed. She pointed at a spot near the balcony and Ava agreed. They sat quietly. Without Shanyn, it was harder for Ava to pretend it wasn’t weird. Ava couldn’t find a word to talk to Karin. She thought she would leave the gala when Shanyn returned. 

“I hope you are okay with me dating Shanyn.” Karin broke the silence between them. 

Ava flinched. She might have gotten through this gala without too much effort if they just forgot about their breakup. She didn’t understand why Karin had to bring this up again. Ava downed the glass of wine she was holding and put it on a tray nearby. 

“No need to act like you ever care about my feelings.” She said what came to her mind, immediately regretting those words. Because Karin couldn’t hide her feelings. What she felt was always visible in her eyes. And Ava saw how much her words hurt Karin. Ava didn’t think enough before she placed her hand on Karin’s shoulder. 

“Hey, don’t think too much about my feelings. Shanyn is cool.” Ava smiled to assure her ex. Of course, what else she could say. Their relationship had nothing to do with her. 

Unexpectedly, Karin threw her arms around Ava’s neck and pulled her into a sloppy hug. “You’re really too good for me.” She whispered to Ava’s ear. 

Ava’s eyes wide opened. She didn’t hug Karin back. She froze. She wasn’t prepared for this. And her face turned pale when she saw Shanyn looking at them in shock. 

Her boss quickly approached them while Ava tried to untangle herself from Karin’s embrace. 

Shanyn glowered at Ava. “You stalked her yesterday. I brushed it off and gave you a chance for your career. And see what you just did? You are so pathetic, Ava.” Her words were harsh, infused with bitterness, and maybe a bit too loud.

Ava finally got rid of Karin’s lanky arms and set her drunk ex on a seat. She groaned when she noticed that some of the guests were looking at them. They were murmuring something that Ava didn’t want to think of. Some took out their phones. With Shanyn's long yellow dress, this situation looked exactly like a normal scence in a telenovela -- except it’s gay. 

Damn, even the rhythm of the music turned to tango. Ava saw it coming, Shanyn has a wine glass in her hand. The red liquid’s gonna end up on Ava’s face. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for whatever disaster she might have to endure.

“Your wine looks stale to me, Ma’am. I recommend you get a fresh glass.” 

The music stopped playing for some reason. Ava clearly heard the familiar nonchalant voice. She opened her eyes, parting her lips when she saw Sara taking the glass from Shanyn’s hand and put it on a tray carried by a waiter who just walked by. This time, her annoying neighbor was in a neatly pressed black shirt with two top buttons left open and a black apron wrapped around her waist. Her hair was kept in a perfect ponytail. Ava had never seen anyone look better in a simple waitstaff uniform. Sara stepped forward to stand between Ava and Shanyn. Her boss took a moment to look at Sara from head to toe.

“A waitress? Ava, your preference changed quite drastically.” Her boss scoffed. 

A surge of anger rose up to Ava’s face. An editor in chief or not, she couldn’t talk to Sara like this. But before Ava could step forward to tell her boss to fuck off, Sara grabbed her hand and turned to her side to talk to Ava. “It’s okay.” She nodded, gently squeezing Ava’s hand before turning to face her boss again. 

“It’s a job and I’m proud of it.” Sara sternly stared at Shanyn. “Do I have to alert our security staff, ma’am?” 

Ava saw her boss clench her hands. But she didn’t retaliate, probably because Karin lifted her head up and gave her a lazy drunken smile. Shanyn looked around. The buzz of people murmuring might have brought her brain back to herself. Ava saw her swallow. She might have realized she just embarrassed herself. Poor Shanyn. 

“Sara Lance? I’m lucky you have a gig here tonight!” 

A middle aged man with grey hair approached Sara with his arms open and a big smile. Ava remembered that he was a professor working on marine pollution. Shanyn had had a long chat with him about a half an hour ago.

“This is the protege that I mentioned earlier. She’s a recipient of the National Science Foundation Awards last year. It’s uncommon for an undergrad to get their project funded by such a big agency. I told you she’s gonna be the future Jane Goodall of marine biology.” He talked to Shanyn cheerfully. He had no clue what kind of situation he just interrupted. 

Ava’s eyes turn to Sara again. Her gaze landed on her neighbor’s flawless profile. So, Sara Lance was also an outstanding young female scientist? That’s … annoying. 

“Thanks, Ian. But no, I’m not gonna talk to a dolphin in front of a camera to please the male gaze.” Sara said with amusement in her tone. She and the professor must be quite close. Ava couldn’t help but let out a giggle at the joke. Sara sheepishly biting a corner of her bottom lip. The chandelier above her head must be too bright, because Ava felt like Sara was shining, and she wasn’t aware that her eyes were on Sara’s face a bit too long. 

“Wanna go somewhere else?” Sara quietly asked Ava. It was only for her to hear. Ava nodded, her thumb brushing Sara’s knuckle lightly. Sara said goodbye to the professor and gave Shanyn a last glance. She tugged Ava’s hand and Ava just followed. Ava didn’t see how Shanyn’s mouth hung open as if two women leaving a party was something she couldn’t comprehend. The crowd that they were walking through might be looking at them with curiosity, but Ava didn’t really see those people, her eyes were focusing on the square shoulders and the slender neck in front of her.

+++++

“Charlie’s concert got moved to the next slot. It took me quite a while to get myself into that gala, even though I have worked here sometimes. ” 

Ava was sitting on a bench in the employee locker room. Sara was taking off the apron and threw it into a laundry basket. She then took her clothes out of a locker. “I’m sorry I was late. Had I known that the concert would start later tonight, I would’ve come with you.” 

Ava shook her head. Sara had nothing to do with her personal problem. She shouldn’t have been dragged into this mess in the first place. “I think I’ll have to take you to a fancy restaurant for a payback.” She felt giddy saying that. Unreasonable. It wasn’t a big deal. Sara wanted fancy food and she deserved it. 

“Or you can just go to the concert with me tonight and have some fun, if you’re not too tired, of course.” Those blue eyes were hopeful. Ava wouldn’t have a heart to turn down her wish if she looked at Ava like that.

“After this hell of an event, I sure can use a good dose of punk.” 

And Sara just beamed at her, making Ava question herself and why she was always annoyed by Sara’s smile. 

Sara didn’t say anything more, as if she was afraid that Ava might change her mind if she continued the conservation. Sara kept her eyes on the locker and quickly unbuttoned her black shirt and took it off, exposing her fiery red lace bra. 

It wasn’t a big deal that a woman changed her clothes in a locker room. It was absolutely the right context for someone to be naked in front of a stranger. If Ava wanted to give her some privacy, she could just look away. Right, she’s supposed to look at something else, not those indentations of the lines that defined Sara’s abs and arms. 

Ava realized this might be the most torturous moment of the night when she held her breath and tightened her grip on the edge of the seat she was sitting on. 

And her swallowing might have come out too loud, because Sara tore her eyes from the locker and turned to her. Ava didn’t know what Sara saw, but the girl gave Ava a smirk, the most infuriating one, the worst of the worst, with her eyes flicking up and down on Ava briefly before she just put on a grey tie-dyed t-shirt and a tan bomber jacket.

A princess charming in an apron? The next Jane Goodall of marine biology? No, this girl was just pure evil.

+++++++

_ “It's better to bury my feelings, _

_ Than feel as awful as this.” _

Charlie ended the last part of her original song. The last strum of an electric guitar was howling while the audience cheered and yelled at the performers, requesting more. Ava didn’t like being in a crowd of sweaty strangers, so she enjoyed the performance from a bar. Weird enough that the person who quietly sat with her was Mick Rory. Ray was with his girlfriend at a booth in the back of the hall. The other Legends were on the floor in front of the stage. Sara left her side not long ago just to throw a newly bought bra she had prepared at Charlie. It was unthinkable for an uptight person who enjoyed normality like Ava, but she couldn’t deny how her heart leapt at the way Charlie caught the bra mid air. And when she saw Zari climb up on the stage to give Charlie a quick peck on her cheek, Ava sighed contentedly. When everything turned quiet for a brief moment, Ava felt her body lightened. She asked Mick how the Legends did this -- raising a happy child together, saving a girl’s sanity, and being together with joy. He ignored her completely and chugged another glass of a locally brewed IPA. Judging from his drinking preference, Ava was thankful he didn’t name Bourbon Beer. Well, probably he actually wanted to name her Beer but Jordan objected to his idea. 

After a wild hour of screaming, throat singing, and energizing beats, Ava thought everyone needed an interval of a milder music genre. The Smells left the stage and the nightclub did just what Ava thought. Streaks of pink light moved slowly, mellowing the thrumming heartbeat of the customers. But not everything would go as Ava wished. The music started playing right now was tango. 

Nate, Zari, and Charlie went outside to get some air. Sara returned to where Ava was, panting after letting herself loose in front of the stage, eyes were on Ava like she never wanted to leave her. Ava got her a bottle of mineral water. 

“Enough punk for a night?” Sara returned the bottle to the bartender after she emptied it. 

Ava nodded. “Yeah, cleansed my brain from that awful gala.” Ava took another sip of her whisky ginger. The drink was quite strong and Ava thought it was the reason why she smiled too much. She must look really dumb right now. Well, not too dumb compared to the way Ray looked at his girlfriend while they were slow dancing. His smile was too wide and Ava believed the girl looked away awkwardly. Ava chuckled, Ray’s pretty girlfriend seemed like someone she could be friends with. 

“Dance with me?” Sara asked casually, she didn’t look at Ava with expectation at all. Indeed, it seemed like she was prepared for a rejection, because when Ava shook her head, she didn’t pester her and just hopped on a stool. “We can just sit here and discuss restaurants.” She bit her lip again. Ava thought she might have to tell her she shouldn’t do that so often. 

Ava took out her phone and googled, then showed Sara the glowing screen. “How about this one. It’s vegan friendly.” 

Sara’s eyes lifted up from the screen to meet Ava’s. “How do you know that?” Her eyes were shining, searching for a possible answer on Ava’s face.

“Why did you eat the steak I made the other day like you were a leader of a paleo cult?” 

Ava ended the question with her eyebrows raising. Her heart beat a little faster, because the nightclub was loud and they had to lean closer to each other to talk. And Sara Lance who always found something infuriating to say was now short of words -- and probably short of breath too. For a moment, Ava didn’t hear anything except Sara’s swallow. 

“Hey, Sara. Can I borrow your key? I forgot mine at my office. And...you know, Nora kind of wants to watch some movies with me tonight.” Ray asked Sara nervously. One of his hands scratching the back of his head, eyes were on something else and not the person he was talking to. 

Ava wasn’t aware of Ray standing next to her until he talked to Sara. Sara blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand why Ray was here. It took a moment before she gave him their apartment key. Ray swiftly left them. Ava giggled at how chirpy he was. The tension that made the nightclub quiet for a brief moment was gone. She should thank Ray later. Now Ava could change the subject to something else. Maybe movies. Movies always worked. 

But before Ava could ask Sara about her favorite movies, a man approached them. That Olly guy. Ava shouldn’t be surprised. He greeted Ava and gave Sara a knowing look with a smirk. 

“Can you help me heat up the floor? Gotta keep the energy going.” He offered Sara his hand. Sara hesitated for a moment and turned to Ava. 

Ava gave her a soft “Go ahead.” Sara took a second to tell her that it would be less than ten minutes. “I’ll be back shortly.” She said before she followed Olly to the middle of the empty dance floor that was lit by a red, sensual streak of light. 

The sound of accordion started the song and his big hand was placed on the small of Sara’s back. They were both in just simple t-shirts and jeans, but they looked like a couple of celebrities. He’s older, maybe even older than Ava, tall and as handsome as a man could be. She looked delicate standing in his arms. Their eyes locked, and their movements were so smooth and clean. She dragged her feet slowly when the music asked her to do so. He was strong and his arms were always where they needed to be to support her move. The few inches between their faces created the needed tension. And every extension of her limbs made the audience hold their breath. 

They were beautiful in the most professional sense. Most forms of dance were too heterosexual for Ava’s liking. That’s why she was never into it. But one couldn’t make a mistake of sexualizing Sara and Olly’s performance. It was obvious they had been dancing together for quite some time. Ava sighed, taking another sip of her strong drink. She was tired of Sara Lance, of how this girl could be so many things. Ava wouldn’t be surprised if she transformed into something else by the end of this night. 

The music ended with her right leg wrapped around his torso. The upper part of her body fell backward with him leaned over above her. People cheered and clapped their hands, and the next song started playing. This time it was just a generic EDM. The dance floor was filled with people again. Ava lost her sight of Sara and she felt it. 

“Come on, Ava. let's loosen up!”

An arm threw over her shoulders. Nate, Charlie, and Zari were back, and they didn’t let Ava say no. They ushered her to the edge of the dance floor and started moving their bodies to the music. 

Of course, Ava just stood still in the middle of the dancing crowd. The heavy beats shook her bones and made it feel weird in her chest. The pair of Louboutin she was wearing were definitely not appropriate for dancing, especially when the person who wore them didn’t know how to dance. 

Sara’s friends had different funny dance moves that kept Ava entertained just by standing there and watching them. But the dancing crowd was dynamic. Eventually, people started finding new people to dance with -- to gauge their chemistry and decide if they would like to hang out later. Two EDM songs went by and Ava was completely deserted in the crowd of strangers. She looked around, trying to find someone she knew in the sea of people. It wasn’t easy to spot Sara. She was tiny and the lighting here wasn’t meant for visibility. 

But Ava finally found her. Her legs started moving to that direction. The forest of tipsy people was something. Ava wanted to shove them away but she didn’t like touching people in general. So she squeezed herself among them, tripping on someone, stumbling a few times trying to find her way. 

She tripped on someone’s foot again and fell forward. But this time an arm caught around her waist. Ava steadied herself and turned around to meet a pair of blue eyes looking at her, searching her face to make sure she was okay.

“You told me ten minutes.” She leaned closer to Sara’s ear because the music was loud. It wasn’t meant to be a joke. The past twenty minutes really felt so long for Ava. And because Sara's arm was still wrapped around her, Ava thought it was appropriate to put her arms around Sara’s neck. So the girl leaned closer. 

“Are you tired? Wanna go home?” Sara asked her with her lips a few millimetres away from Ava’s cheek. 

The heavy EDM beats transitioned to something acoustic. Ava took a moment to let the soft and clean melody wash away the vibration left in her ears. When the people around her stopped jumping and just swayed their body to the music, Ava smiled and leaned down to the side of Sara’s head.

“We can stay like this a little longer.” 

Ava didn’t see it but she knew Sara was smiling, because that arm around her was more relaxed and was joined by the other one. And absentmindedly, Ava’s fingers were playing with the back of Sara’s neck. She didn’t know how to dance. She may or may not have forgotten that her shoes were uncomfortable.

+++++

Her pair of Louboutin were very uncomfortable, especially, when everything she saw seemed wobbly. Ava may have had too many drinks. Well, she started with wine in the evening at the gala then some cocktails at the nightclub. Mick also bought her a pint or two of his favorite IPA when he learned that she worked at a publishing company. An awkward chat with him later turned into a flavorful discussion. His life story was one of a kind. The other Legends joined them and Ava learned how interesting each of them was. Zari was in the university’s prestigious philharmonic band. Nate was finishing his PhD. in History. Ava was having fun until Sara thought she should go home. Of course, she whined, which was unusual for someone like her. Ava wouldn’t let Sara dictate what she should or should not do so easily. Hence, Sara brought up Cayenne. 

That’s why Ava ended up sitting sloppily on a bench on the sidewalk. Sara couldn’t find a cab due to high demand on Saturday night and Ava insisted she wanted to walk. Ava used Sara as a human underarm crutch. Her height was just right for Ava. Ava didn’t know how long she had been walking. The cold weather made her feet feel numb and she felt a little bit drowsy. When they found a bench on the sidewalk, Sara dropped Ava on it. The yellow light from a lamppost shone above her. 

“Tired? Thought you were fit judging from your abs.” She smiled with eyes drooping. The alcohol in her body really did wonder. Had it been her normal self, Ava wouldn’t have said that to someone she barely knew. She received a chuckle as a response. Sara put her backpack on the bench and opened it to find something. 

Ava frowned when she saw Sara took out a pair of running shoes from the backpack. Sara then sat on her knees on the ground in front of Ava. 

“You are lucky we wear the same size and I went to the gym today. ” Sara looked up to smile at her assuringly. 

Ava gasped when her high heels were taken from her feet, immediately feeling the cold brush against her skin. 

“You’re really dumb for someone who looks so smart.” Sara shook her head disapprovingly when she saw the red blisters on the back of her heels. 

“Your shoes don’t match my clothes.” Ava pointed out. But Sara didn’t bother arguing with her. She carefully put the sneakers on Ava’s feet. 

Sara’s golden hair glowed in the light from the lamppost. Ava quietly observed the way Sara tied the shoelaces for her. Ava shouldn’t have let anyone treat her like a small child. But the alcohol kind of messed up her logic. Ava didn’t know why, but for now, this made sense. 

“Now you can walk properly.” Sara gave a last pull to ensure that the shoes were tight enough. Then, she looked up, eyes fixing on Ava’s for a few breaths before she sighed softly, letting some kind of tightness out of her chest. Ava’s lips parted slightly at the sight in front of her. Blues eyes were reflecting the light shining upon them. A beautiful angel was kneeling before her. Ava’s throat felt dry. Even though she wasn’t sober, she realized something -- something that she wouldn’t have said out loud if she was sober.

“I’m leaving this city in a few weeks. What’s the point of doing all of this?” She asked softly, eyes searching for what might be Sara’s answer. 

Ava had been floating in this sweet hazy cloud since Sara took her hand and rescued her from the gala. The girl made her forget about Karin. She reminded her what it was like to be special to someone. There were several moments, some she wasn’t aware of, that she let herself enjoy the charm she knew well it was a trap -- a trap that Sara might not be aware she was setting it up. 

She saw Sara take in a deep breath and let out a shaky sigh. She looked at Ava with her eyes dancing, reflecting so many thoughts going on in her head. Sara finally closed her eyes for a brief moment.

“I don’t know.” 

Sara managed to say something. She told Ava with desperate sincerity. She looked defeated, and Ava couldn’t stand that. So she reached her hand down to caress Sara’s cheek, eyes were on her without words, until the silence was unbearable. 

Ava leaned down and Sara didn’t turn away. The tip of Ava’s nose grazed lightly on Sara’s. She tilted her head just slightly for her lips to get what they wanted. But what she found wasn’t the softness of a girl’s lips. It was a rough pad of a thumb. 

“Right now isn’t the right time to kiss me.” The soft words were told to her ear, two hands cupping her face. “There’s a good chance you won’t remember.” Sara pulled herself up from the ground and gave Ava a smile that wasn’t annoying. 

Ava blinked slowly. Drowsiness was like a stage curtain falling from the ceiling. It could easily hide whatever going on in the back stage, cutting off the connection between real life and fantasy. Ava knew there was a lot going on in her head, but she couldn’t see them clearly. She really needed to go home and sleep in a warm bed. She would hug the duvet to her chest, because right now she wanted to be close to something. 

Sara offered her hand and Ava took it. She pulled Ava up from the seat. Now Ava’s heels touched the ground and her feet could finally relax. It felt nice to be able to walk without too much effort again. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol this is so fluff I can't with myself. Finally I can write something not so angsty.

**Author's Note:**

> Cute dog and a baby. See? It's gonna be fluffy. I will have to learn more about babies. That area is my new territory.


End file.
